


by monsters and machine

by soonies



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Angst, Explicit Sexual Content, Ghost Drifting, Jaeger Pilots, Jaegers (Pacific Rim), M/M, Minor Character Death, Ranger!Soonyoung, Statistician!Wonwoo, Tension, Truma, sickly in love mfs, stangers to partners to lovers, they're fighting kaiju what did u expect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:34:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 34,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21801499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soonies/pseuds/soonies
Summary: In retro-future 2024, legions of monstrous creatures called Kaiju arose from the sea, bringing with them all-consuming war. To fight the Kaiju, mankind developed giant robots called Jaegers, designed to be piloted by two humans locked together in a neural bridge. However, even the Jaegers are not enough to defeat the Kaiju, and humanity is on the verge of defeat. 2037, after losing yet another set of Jaeger pilots, statistical analyst Jeon Wonwoo is tapped in to pilot alongside First Reserve Trainee Kwon Soonyoung. Will they be able to bring an end to a night so dark many forgot what the sun feels like? Or will they be just another set of casualties in a hopeless, eternal war?Or: a Pacific Rim AU.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi
Comments: 11
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I've spent literally a year secretly fleshing out this fic. I genuinely did not expect it to become the monster (kaiju??) it did. Despite sometimes mentioning working on a secret, the only people who outright knew what it was about were Ales, Aves, Cat, and Amber. I want to thank all of you so much for every bit of support and kindness you've given me over this. To you and all of SWN, I love you guys. You made my year so sweet and happy, you'll never even know. Even if SWN may be closing, knowing that I still have you all with me as friends is worth so much to me.
> 
> Now, For story mechanics:  
> It's posted as two chapters - the first being the actual story and the second an appendix of in-world terms needed to fully understand the fic. If you've seen either of the movies - you should be okay, but if not I would recommend either checking them out or referring to the appendix with any questions regarding Pacific Rim-specific jargon. If there are any terms you would like to see added to the appendix, don't hesitate to comment or DM me on twitter (@/gemhosh).

2037\. Jeon Wonwoo ran down the halls of the South Korean Shatterdome (SKS) as fast as his legs would carry him. Papers flew from the large stack of files hastily placed in his hands by the drift commander on his way out of the lab. He grabbed the stray pages before hauling ass down the main corridor and turning off toward the assessment arenas. 

He was a second year statistical analyst in the Jaeger program, focusing on predicting the possible drift compatibility of new recruits. This method of science became extremely necessary when a new deep sea breach opened up directly in the East China Sea less than 150 km from Seogwipo on the edge of Jeju and the SKS was forced to up its potential pilots from just under 35 annually to over 170 possible recruits. Having graduated with honors from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology just as the renewed Jaeger program was being introduced, Wonwoo was scouted to work under their head statistician to predict and present data suggesting the potential matchups of the First Reserve trainees - who make up the top 15 percent of their ranger program.

He turned another corridor, passing the mess hall where several lower class recruits were resting in between their grueling workout and test regimes - predetermined programs that are individually laid out to increase drift ability. Wonwoo’s assignment was usually looking through and analyzing the data results of weekly check-ins performed by specialized technicians. He typically never had to leave his lab to do this, but today was different. Despite not understanding why the Marshal was insisting on the necessity of him participating in today’s trials, he kept up his pace to the arena. He knew being late would just fan the flames of the man’s vexation. They were at war and Marshal Choi would not accept tardiness from any of his company, Wonwoo included.

He slowed down to more of a fast walk as he arrived at the kwoon room where several trainees were practicing with various melee weapons in preparation for tonight’s test. In one corner of the room, two men were going toe to toe with short wooden staffs - though a trained eye could see one participant was going much easier on the other. In another corner, a womanl with a long, black ponytail and a man with close cropped hair were practicing hand to hand combat with the girl outsmarting the man at every move. It seemed, in Wonwoo’s opinion, neither group were particularly harmonious. His eyes stopped scanning the room and locked onto a man in the center of this rather energized zone. With black hair and upturned eyes, he sat silently. Meditating; A calculated choice given the emotional toll compatibility trials can have on the psyche. Wonwoo made a mental note to remind himself to watch out for him once the fights began.

Wonwoo made his way up to the media station before logging in with his credentials, setting up a program - featuring a high-tech algorithm that took several weeks for him to create - that would display the real time drift compatibility of any two people that stepped into the ring. By standing on the mat with bare feet, pressure sensors are able to determine body type, experience, and spiritual energy that affect a potential bond.

Of course, this process was just a precursor to actually viewing and judging compatibility based on complementary combat styles. He created it simply to narrow down the best matches and avoid wasting the precious time left before the next kaiju attack. Typically, Wonwoo would assign a lower level tech to run the program but with the importance of today’s trials, Marshal Choi refused to let anyone other than Wonwoo operate the sensitive technology. He still wasn’t sure exactly why it had to be him though.

No outsider would know that today’s trials were any different from last week’s other than the occasional sloppy return from some of the younger candidates. That and the somber expression most of the recruits were trying to wipe off of their faces. Wonwoo took a deep breath trying not to picture the newspaper headlines or the news station memorial that was blasted across the Shatterdome when they lost two Jaeger pilots in a fight less than a week ago.

Kang Yebin and Kim Minkyung had gone down when a level 3 kaiju [CODENAME: RAINSPITTER] had sprayed an acidic mist across the energy core of their Jaeger, a Mark-3 named Black Widow. Without a properly functioning Jaeger, the pair were unable to keep up with the kaiju and ultimately gave their lives to protect the territory by using Black Widow’s remaining power to self-destruct and take down the beast before it could get closer to land. With a blast radius over 10 km, search parties spent two days in the water before it was deemed unsafe to continue looking for remnants of the conn-pod. The memorial was held the following morning. Wonwoo grimaced thinking about it; the news special had been more focused on the war and glorifying kaiju in order to sell merchandise than it was about the two lost rangers. How people were able to sleep at night knowing they were commercializing the literal monsters sent to kill them, he would never understand. They had been his friends. 

When Wonwoo had first step foot on base, he’d been put into a room with a couple dozen other new initiates, mostly tech but also a few women who went on to serve in the PRISTIN initiative, a special operation featuring an all-female drift team and command center. Yebin and Minkyung were the program’s pilots. In fact, Wonwoo’s algorithm is what paired the two of them together. He’d worked closely with the team after creation to supplement their analysis and determine the viability of the operation. He’d grown rather close with all of them. Although he knew rationally that their deaths weren’t his fault - that’s what happens in war - he still felt partially to blame for them being out there in the first place. It was his algorithm.

He looked up as someone approached his station, “Wonwoo, is the equipment ready?”

“Yes, Marshal. Just a minute for it to sync with the sensors in the arena mats,” he pressed a few more buttons before looking at the face of a very tired man.

Choi Seungcheol was promoted to Marshal of the South Korean Shatterdome after spending the first four years of the war piloting a Mark-1 Jaeger named ShiningDiamond. He doesn’t really talk about it with anyone expect his partner - who now teaches new drift technicians on how to initiate the neural handshake. Wonwoo hasn’t worked up the courage yet to ask.

“Alright, well, let’s get this show on the road,” he briefly squeezed Wonwoo’s shoulder, a slight grimace on his face, before he turned and clapped his hands once to get the attention of the potential pilots, “As you all know, in today’s trial, the pair with the most compatibility, according to the program and tested combat, will become the pilots of a new Jaeger to replace Black Widow,” he paused. “What you don’t know is that we have officially confirmed with central command that SKS will be receiving a Mark-4 Jaeger for the first time. That is the Jaeger you will be piloting.

“In addition, to continue growing our program and to provide support for the Jaegers currently in place, the pair in second will act as a back up and train to operate a Mark-2 Jaeger that is currently in the process of being refurbished and shipped to us from the Australian Shatterdome.”

Wonwoo almost choked on air. Yes, the First Reserve trainees had the best chances of high drift compatibility but that doesn’t mean there’s a pair compatible enough to pilot a Mark-4, hell he’d never even run the numbers for that simulation before.

As the trials went on, Wonwoo began to lose hope that they’d find that perfect pair. Nearing the end, the only truly viable match they had so far were two men, one from a small town not too far from the Shatterdome and a half-American man from the mainland. According to his program, once they stepped on the mat their compatibility was 77% and once they left it was at 85% which is more than enough to pilot the Mark-2 Jaeger. Wonwoo was concerned, however, that it wouldn’t be nearly enough for the Mark-4.

Then he stepped up to the mat, melee staff in hand. It was the man Wonwoo had seen meditating earlier. He pushed a headband under his bangs and flashed a smile that made his eyes crinkle in a way that made everyone in the room feel the urge to smile as well before stepping right onto the mat.

When Wonwoo looked up at the monitor recording the compatibility statistics, he was completely caught off guard to see this man had one of the best solo drift abilities he’d ever seen. He broadcasted the scores on the larger monitor above the mat, visible to the other recruits. The collective gasp from the small audience summed up how he felt as well. The first combat partner walked up to the mat.

As the younger man stepped onto the mat, Wonwoo frowned. The match potential dropped from nearly 83% solo to just over 30%. As they fought, it was clear that the other man wasn’t going to get a hit in. Wonwoo chalked it up to the meditating man just being at a different level than the other. But then it happened again, and again. Every time a potential partner stepped up onto the mat, the compatibility dropped, and every time they stepped off, it rose again.

After sharing a confused look with the Marshal, Wonwoo stood to check the sensors. He figured something had to be affecting his algorithm, maybe just a pushed tension plate. He carefully removed his shoes so as to not disturb the plates with forceful steps and stepped into the ring to check the performance of various sensors.

He hadn’t even looked up at the crowd of recruits in front of him until he heard gasps. Just like when the man stepped in for the first time, everyone’s mouths were open and they were staring above his head. He shot the one girl that was staring at him a confused look. She pointed up at the monitor above his head. He craned his head to look up and see what everyone was looking at, the man included, to see something that shook him to his core.

They had 95% drift compatibility.

The man turned to look at him, “So, I guess it isn’t the sensors. I just needed you,” he reached out to extend a hand. 

Wonwoo swallowed the lump that was taking up his throat. A thousand things going through his mind: he was a statistician, not a pilot. Maybe he’d thought about it once, before he went to school, but that never bloomed into anything. He loved math. Just math. But still, he’d never seen drift compatibility this strong right off the bat. With levels like this, after melee practice they’d practically be in complete unison. They could pilot the Mark-4. Hell, they could pilot a Mark-5 if they really wanted to. This type of compatibility was usually only found in those who already have a bond: family… best friends… lovers. 

“Wonwoo! Come here.” His train of thought was broken by Marshal Choi calling his name. He walked to the edge of the mat, careful not to step off. He didn’t want to ruin the possibility of discovering such a strong match. The Marshal leaned in.

“I’m going to give you this option once and only once, Wonwoo,” he said barely above a whisper, “You have a choice to make right now. We have never seen drift compatibility of this level in this Shatterdome before. You can either step off the mat right now, go back to your statistics, and we will never mention this situation again. Or, you can borrow a bo staff from one of the recruits and we can see if this is possible.”

Wonwoo almost stepped off the mat, lifted up his foot and everything. Until he thought of Minkyung and Yebin. They knew how obsessed he’d been with finding a perfect match. Two people with exactly the right amount of complementary experiences and abilities in order to create a perfect whole. Frankly, Yebin would have kicked his ass if he didn’t take the chance to do it. Even if it meant piloting himself. Minkyung has always told him she’d thought he could have been a ranger, had the perseverance for it. He put his foot down. Inside the mat.

He turned around and rolled up his sleeves while yelling back over his shoulder, “If we fail, I can still do stat. They’d want me to try.”

Marshal Choi, knowing exactly who Wonwoo was talking about, let out a bittersweet smile before officially announcing the match.

Wonwoo grabbed a staff from the competitor before him, who had struck out 0 - 4. He turned to his possible partner and the man’s smile had already returned.

“I’m Soonyoung,” he quickly spun his staff before hitting the ground in an opening defensive stance, “But my friends call me Hoshi.”

“Wonwoo,” he did a simplified version of the other’s opening, still getting a feel after not having picked up a staff in a few weeks. Yes, he practiced with them sometimes - just for fun. At least that practice is proving worth it, “and you better come at me with everything you have, because I want this to be real.”

With that, he lunged at Soonyoung. The latter narrowly blocked the jab before dropping to his knees and making a swipe at Wonwoo’s legs. He stopped just short of hitting the taller man’s calf.

“One,” He stood back up and walked back a couple of feet. He smiled again, something Wonwoo was quickly getting addicted to. He held the staff to one side and made a little ‘come at me’ gesture with his free hand, a twinkling laugh coming out of his mouth.

Wonwoo took advantage of the moment of indulgent bravado to fake toward one side before spinning the staff behind his back and going for a hit on Soonyoung’s empty hand, “One.”

He smirked a little as Soonyoung’s jaw dropped. No one else had gotten a hit on him yet that day.

“See! The chemistry is already there!” Soonyoung started to walk in a circle, Wonwoo following suit. Unlike the previous candidates who had fought like they were in a battle between opponents, the two of them were performing what was much closer to a dance between them. Intimate and daring, they continued advancing, dodging, and parrying as they moved around the mat playing a very public game of cat and mouse. Every hit met with another, every witty remark quickly followed by an equally snarky retort.

“That’s three, Soonie. We’re even again,” Wonwoo smiled at the other man. This is what true affinity felt like. 

They continued the back and forth, Soonyoung sliding past him on the mat at one point, just to miss another hit. They lasted this way for nearly 10 minutes when at once they both stood and aimed to hit, staffs caught in an ‘X’.

“That’s enough,” Marshal Choi’s voice rang out over the arena. The men continued staring at each other before letting the serious faces go, pulling back their weapons, and shaking hands. The Marshal’s voice rang out again, “Look.”

Not only did the two men’s faces look up, so did the rest of the First Reserve. Wonwoo almost cried looking at the board. 98% drift compatibility. 

He closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears that were so quickly welling up. Then, before he could even fully process what this meant for him, he was being grasped tightly and lifted up in the air. Wonwoo opened his eyes to see Soonyoung holding him up, arms tight around his waist. He rested his arms on the shorter man’s shoulders, hugging him back. They had truly defeated the odds to find each other. To find basically a perfect match.

“It looks like we have our new rangers. Congratulations, boys,” Marshal Choi smiled for the first time that week before turning to address the rest of the crowd, “Your new Mark-4 Jaeger pilots, Jeon Wonwoo and Kwon Soonyoung.”

-

When Wonwoo agreed to test his drift compatibility and potentially pilot a Jaeger, he didn’t immediately realize that passing would mean he’d have to move out of the Science Wing’s off-lab boarding rooms and into the rangers’ dormitory.

However, as he packed up his possessions, he couldn’t make himself regret the decision. No matter what he had previously decided for his life, he had an opportunity to change the tide of this war. He hadn’t slept the previous night - staying awake on nearly four and a half cups of coffee just to keep calculating and recalculating the statistics of replacing Black Widow with a higher caliber Jaeger and adding an additional Mark-2. With increased patrols by stronger Jaeger teams, the chance of keeping future kaiju in the water and away from the coast increased by 41%. Barely able to hold the beasts back previously, this would exponentially improve the chances of keeping civilians safe. Wonwoo would not let kaiju dictate the future of his friends anymore. They would not take anyone else away from him.

Folding up a few undershirts, just to stuff them in his general issue duffel, he looked at the last bits of him scattered around the room: a stray sock under the edge of the fold-out bunk, a few half-dead pens on the desk bolted to the wall, a faded poster of one of the original Jaegers surrounded by a handful of pictures of his mom, dad, and brother. Living on a military base didn’t leave much space for decoration; he usually had to stuff the photos into his pillowcase when it came time for barracks inspections. He carefully peeled them off the wall and placed them into his operations binder. With more caution than before, he put the binder in the bag and pulled tight on the string clasp.

As he made his way out of the shoebox room, he paused at the door. He took a deep breath, insatiable somersaulting taking over his stomach. He was really going to be in a Jaeger for the first time in his life. He tried to push down the lump in his throat. Nerves were getting to him but there wasn’t any turning back now. He had a duty not only to Jeju and the SKS but to the world. He cringed at the borderline cheesiness of that thought. He flicked the light switch off and shut the door, leaving what he was before in the dark.

He avoided the looks of the other techs and statisticians as he held his bag close, making his way through the cramped barrack hallways. He knew they didn’t approve of him piloting the strongest Jaeger they’d ever had on base. If he were in their shoes, Wonwoo probably wouldn’t trust the math-nerd-turned-pilot-jock either. Some of his colleagues hadn’t always had the best experiences with rangers: high on adrenaline and cocky upon returning from a kaiju attack only to disregard the comments and follow-ups from the research teams. He promised himself he’d never do anything like that, hell, he’d probably want to talk to the scientists first thing anyway.

As he stepped in front of his new dorm, three floors down and situated immediately below the launchpad of their Jaeger (that he still hadn’t seen), he heard someone moving on the other side. Realizing his new partner would be behind the door, he moved to pat down his messy hair - curls falling into his eyes before being swept to the side. He took a deep breath and turned the handle, opening the door to see something he wasn’t expecting: a kitchenette.

Sure, Wonwoo had known that rangers had different rooming styles than the laboratory wing, but still. The kitchen was twice as big as his entire previous room. With walls and floors made of grey concrete and steel tabletops and chairs, the room was very grey. Yet, cooking at the the one-burner stovetop was the man. Soonyoung, Wonwoo reminded himself.

“Oh hey, you’re here! Take a seat.. I’ll be done in one second,” Soonyoung turned back to look at him from the stove before turning back to crack a few eggs into the large pot, “I’m making ramen.”

Wonwoo caught himself smiling before he had the chance to wipe it off his face. He looked to his left to see a metal door into what was presumably their bunk, “I’m just going to put my bag in the other room.”

Soonyoung made a small grunt in response. As he walked in, he realized this section was much more like his old bunk, just doubled. There was a twin sized bed pushed flush to the wall on either side of the room with two desks bolted to the opposite wall from where Wonwoo was standing. A pole jutted across the room slightly above his head, a few hangers on each side. The left side already holding up a few of what he assumed were Soonyoung’s sweaters - blacks, greys, and blues made up most of the man’s wardrobe much like Wonwoo’s. He set his bag on the empty bed to the right. On Soonyoung’s bed sat a bright teal blanket -very much not regulation issue - with tiny gems across the border. Wonwoo smiled a little at it.

“Nice blanket,” Wonwoo giggled a little as he took a seat at the very small table hanging out the side of the main room’s right hand wall next to what he presumed was a bathroom.

Soonyoung turned around, smile ablaze, “I got it the last time SHINee was doing their moral tours around the Korean bases. Minho’s face is on the other side,” his cheeks were so full that his eyes almost disappeared. Wonwoo struggled for something to say.

“I haven’t seen much of that stuff since the war started. I can never make myself go to those events; feels too normal,” Wonwoo rested his chin in his hands. He didn’t mean to go so pessimistic in the middle of their first real conversation. He blew a curl of his eyes before scrambling for something to say to make the situation a little less tense, “When I was still in undergrad, I think I went to one of their shows once. You know, before the regular shows stopp-,” he faltered, about to bring up the war again.

Soonyoung frowned slightly, “It’s okay to talk about it. Sometimes I can’t listen to it either. Feels like I should be spending every moment fighting or training or trying to be more drift compatible,” He dished the ramen in two bowls and placed them on the table, sitting across from Wonwoo. He blew on the steaming bowl before continuing:

“But we can’t. If we practice 24/7, if we run drills nonstop, by the time it’s time to fight we won’t have the strength to continue,” he slurped up a few noodles before jabbing his chopsticks at Wonwoo’s uncomfortable face, “You need to find a balance. Try meditating. It’s the only thing that keeps me from letting it get to me.”

With the conversation over as quickly as it began, Wonwoo started in on his meal. He hadn’t realized how hungry he’d been. He’d been chalking the fluttering in his stomach up to anxiety and maybe interacting with his partner for real for the first time. He offered to do the dishes when they finished, using cleaning and drying to take his mind away from the earlier conversation.

When he made his way into their shared bunk room, he saw Soonyoung sitting on his bed, curled up in his teal blanket with a determined look on his face. He was furiously scribbling something into a ruled notebook, a few others scattered around him in the bed. From the open pages of the other notebooks, Wonwoo could make out dots and arrows and some nearly illegible hangul. He had absolutely no idea what the other was drawing. He said the same aloud.

“They’re formations. I have hundreds of them - plans of attack based on different kaiju characteristics and what Jaegers are involved in the fight. I had to redo a ton of them when Black Widow went out of commission, but the two new Jaegers are a whole new story,” he erased about half a page before flipping the notebook upside down and starting over, “I have at least a dozen new ideas in my head that I need to write down before I lose them.”

“Oh, that’s cool. Maybe you could show the Marshal sometime. I’m sure he’d appreciate any new ideas.”

Soonyoung put a finger to his tongue before turning the page and continuing his design, he didn’t even look up before responding: “Coups? Oh fuck, _‘Seungcheol’_ , he always yells at me to use his real name. But, yeah, he’s seen them. Told me to come back with my top ten - that was six months ago. I still haven’t narrowed down from over like two hundred,” he smiled sheepishly.

“Coups?” Wonwoo began unpacking his duffel, he’d never heard anyone use the Marshal’s first name let alone a nickname. He put his binder on his pillow and started hanging up some sweaters and long sleeve shirts - standard issue.

“S.Coups. It’s what we use to call him when he and Jeonghan used to pilot together,” Soonyoung said this like it was no big deal. Wonwoo turned from where he was hanging a windbreaker to look at him with an expression that said that this was very much a big deal.

“You knew the Marshal-”

“Seungcheol.”

“Seungcheol - when he was a ranger? How?”

Soonyoung closed his notebook, piling them all on the corner of his bed - he didn’t have the mental capacity to continue breaking them down tonight, “I was on his original Jaeger team. I used to calibrate their Jaeger suits, you know, prep them for the drift. When ShiningDiamond was decommissioned, we all went our separate ways. Seungcheol was promoted, Jeonghan got his doctorate and became his chief drift coordinator, and I transferred into the pilot program. Been there ever since, looking for a match. And you know how that part of the story ends.”

Wonwoo started mentally calculating what all of that meant in the context of the situation as tucked his duffle under his cot,“That means you’ve been here for what… Six years? Just training to be a ranger?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I mean, I love it, but man it’s been taking over my whole life for so long. And there wasn’t much of a light at the end of the tunnel until now, if you know what I mean,” he flicked off the lamp on his side of the room. Wonwoo did the same.

A minute of silence passed before Wonwoo spoke again: “How come you never found a match?”

He felt the air get tense. He really didn’t mean to do that again, but he needed to know. If they were already going to see everything of each other’s minds, he figured they might as well get over the awkward stuff now.

Soonyoung took a deep breath, “Every time we thought I was anywhere near drift compatible with anyone, as soon as we got into a test pod,” he faltered a little, “my mind would ‘poke’? - I’m not sure if that’s the right word - at them too much.Trying to meld itself, my mind would bring up their memories too quickly. A lot of my partners would chase the rabbit because of it. They’d get too caught on a memory - sometimes theirs, sometimes mine.

“I probably should have told you that before you agreed to be my partner.”

Wonwoo actually felt a little relieved. Drift problems? He could deal with those. He knew everything about the drift instead and out, had studied it for months to write his testing program. And knowing Soonyoung had an intimate knowledge of it as well, no wonder his previous matches hadn’t succeeded: they didn’t understand what it meant to drift in the way Soonyoung was used to. The way his body wanted to immediately establish connection and share everything. Rangers either had to know drifting like the back of their hand or not at all and let a leap of faith finish their connection. 

“It’s okay, Soonie,” he wasn’t quite sure why he threw out that nickname from earlier now that they were in the middle of their pitch black room, but he was keeping it, “You see the drift differently than other rangers... So it’s a good thing I’m not a born pilot.”

Soonyoung let out a small laugh, a little closer to the person Wonwoo had gotten to know, “Well, you’re one now.”

-

At 0400, an alarm went off in their room. Wonwoo shot up so quickly he knocked his head on the shelf above his bed. By the time he wiped the sleep out of his eyes and realized what the alarm meant - his stomach dropped. He looked to his right to see Soonyoung already out of bed and pulling on his pilot fatigues. He jumped out from under his covers and started changing as fast as he could. He was still pulling on a boot as the two of them exited their barrack and headed to the elevator directly across the hall.

They each placed a hand to the biometric scanners on either side of the sliding doors, faces solemn. As they waited for it to take them up to the ranger’s deck, their fingers brushed a little in the cramped lift. Neither commented on it as an electric haze of unease clouded the small space. 

When the doors finally opened, it felt like the nauseous feeling expanded and as the emptiness of the Jaeger bay consumed them, Wonwoo felt like he might suffocate. The only other people on the deck were the Marshal and two men standing beside him, looking at them. No one was manning the control room behind them. It took Wonwoo and Soonyoung a few minutes staring at the officers in front of them to realize what this was: a test. There wasn’t an attack happening today - as far as they knew. This was going to be the beginning of their training.

“Quick response time,” one of the men made a comment into a handheld recorder. Shaking the adrenaline from his mind, Wonwoo recognized him.

“Hong Jisoo?” He wasn’t sure why his old boss was standing before them when the sun wasn’t even up yet.

The older statistician smiled before shaking his head with a _tsk_ , “You thought you could get rid of me that easily? Someone has to manage your drift numbers.” With a shrug of his shoulder and a small lean toward the Marshal, he added: “Coups asked me watch over you guys.”

There was that nickname Soonyoung had used earlier, Wonwoo thought. But then again, Jisoo had been at the base from its inception so realizing that his mentor would be close to the Marshal is less of a surprise and more like a puzzle piece finally connecting. He still wasn’t quite sure who the third member of their little welcoming party was. This time the answer came straight from Soonyoung as he barreled toward the man.

“Jeonghan!” He watched as his drift partner squeezed the man with the light brown bob for a few minutes before he laughed and responded in kind.

“It’s been a bit, Soon. See you finally found a partner to put up with your bullshit… at least he’s cute.” He gave Wonwoo a once-over that left him feeling just the slightest bit self-conscious. Soonyoung squeezed Jeonghan a bit tighter in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to leave his partner alone.

The man detached himself from Soonyoung’s grasp to offer a hand to Wonwoo, “Yoon Jeonghan. Drift and Neural Connection Coordinator. Former co-pilot to ShiningDiamond.”

_ShiningDiamond_. He thought he’d recognized him, at least a little bit. From seeing months of war footage during his undergrad, he must of seen Jeonghan in hundreds of post-battle press conferences alongside the Marshal. That’s why his face was so familiar - but his hair used to be longer. 

Wonwoo shook his hand and bowed slightly before moving to stand next to Soonyoung. Realizing he had the least amount of experience out of the group, he felt himself shrink a little in his shoes. He was so focused on their near-perfect drift compatibility, he’d cast traditional experience and training from his thoughts. He began running scenarios and statistics in his head about it. Seeing a furrow set into his brow, Soonyoung reached out and quickly squeezed his wrist.

“I think we’ve had enough reunions for one day. It’s time to see your Jaeger,” the Marshal, unaware to Wonwoo’s inner dilemma, had a rare smile on his face. He let the new pilots pass by him, and pointed them across the ranger’s deck. Once he instructed everyone toward the stairs that led down to the engineer’s loading docks, his hand dropped to the small of Jeonghan’s back. Wonwoo didn’t notice, still focused on running numbers. Soonyoung snickered at the action - but he was still holding onto Wonwoo’s wrist too.

As they approached the loading dock, the sheer size of the Jaegers before them was awe-inspiring. On their left was the squad point, a Mark-3 named MoonWalker. Standing at nearly 84 m tall, it was the largest Jaeger that had ever set foot in the SKS so far. Featuring a pearlescent paint scheme of royal blue and purple with white detailing down its edges, its bright colors set it out from the gunmetal docking station it rested on. Wonwoo felt like it was breathing, like it was staring him down. He shuttered a little and Soonyoung tightened the hold on his hand. Like night and day, on their right was AL1, a newer, sleeker Mark-3 that boasted a bright orange and red paint scheme that almost left it feeling like sunset. The sun kissed Jaeger was smaller than its leader but what it lacked in height, it made up for in its arsenal: packing dual nuclear cannons in its arms as well as an expandable attachment that slotted together to become a sword. These machines had seen more battle action than Wonwoo could even dream of.

In between MoonWalker and AL1, sat two Jaegers the pilots had never before set their eyes on; one out in the open, another under a large, grey tarp. The uncovered Jaeger was still in need of a new paint job, repair pieces soldered to the original parts standing out against the old yellow paint. Wonwoo quickly realized it must be the refurbished Mark-2 Jaeger and sure enough, as they got closer, they noticed the two other men from the kwoon room sitting on the mech’s feet. He wondered what kind of wake up notice those two received.

As the small party reached the center of the engineer’s work space, the Marshal made a motion for them to stop before yelling, letting his booming tone bounce off the near empty walls, “Seokmin! We’re in place. Drop the curtain.”

Wonwoo had thought he was prepared to see the machine. He’d been imagining for years what his Jaeger would look like - it was just the sort of thing that people do now that there’s a war. With the commodification of it all, hell, there was even an app where you can design your own mini-Jaeger and they send you an action figure of it. Wonwoo’s parents had tried to get him one last Christmas; it took him about three hours to talk them out of it.

But, as the curtain dropped, he realized that what he’d previously dreamt of couldn’t compare to the sight of seeing an actual Jaeger - that was _his_ to pilot - less than 10 m in front of him. He ran a hand through his hair in disbelief. This was his. He looked at Soonyoung - mouth gaped open, eyes shining - and no. This wasn’t his. It was _theirs_. 

And it was tall. At least 3 m taller than MoonWalker, it towered over the other Jaegers. Its height wasn’t even the most impressive part of it - with sleek plate coverings, it was the most humanoid machine either of them had seen. Its forearms were round, clearly hiding more weapons to interchange with its hands. Outfitted with what seemed like wings poking out from the back, it was clear this was something special. It gleamed a bright silver, the fresh paint smell still lingering in the air. The pilots couldn’t stop their feet, finding themselves walking up to the Jaeger’s base. As they reached out their hands to touch the cool metal, Wonwoo realized that it wasn’t just silver: there was some sort of light yellow - almost translucent - paint in the shape of stars scattered around the machine, getting larger toward the top. Soonyoung must have been having the same train of thought as he started mumbling about the design. Upon seeing Wonwoo studying his face rather than their Jaeger, he spoke up.

“They’re glow in the dark, Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo’s eyes opened wide as he turned back to reexamine the paint. This was so much cooler than he ever could’ve imagined. He looked at Soonyoung again and smiled. It was all thanks to him.

“Thought you’d like the stars, _Hoshi_ ,” they turned around as the Marshal approached them.

“So I’m not allowed to call you by your flight name anymore but you can call me by my old nickname?” Soonyoung massaged his own chin, giving his best attempt to look ‘quizzical’. 

“Well, I figured it’d be nice if we made it your official flight name,” he smiled a gummy smile before handing Soonyoung a set of dog tags that read:

JAEGER PILOT: ‘HOSHI’

RANGER KWON SOONYOUNG

BLOOD TYPE: B

Soonyoung looked like he might start crying on the spot. He pulled the tags over his head, unable to take his eyes off the small metal pieces.

Wonwoo was feeling a little out of place with the personal exchange going on right in front of him. He hadn’t even noticed Jeonghan had walked over to hand him his own dog tags:

JAEGER PILOT: ‘WONWOO’

RANGER JEON WONWOO

BLOOD TYPE: A

He was more than a little relieved not to find any ridiculous or random code name on the tag - he wasn’t the type to find comfort in that sort of thing. He looked at Jeonghan as the older put a hand on his shoulder.

“When I was a ranger, I never really felt the need for a full pilot name. I figured you were probably similar,” Jeonghan laughed a little, stepping back next to the Marshal.

“Thanks,” Wonwoo let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He still couldn’t get over how this was really happening.

A beeping started up from the pager on Jisoo’s waist. Upon glancing at the coded message, he leaned over to whisper something quickly into the Marshal’s ear.

“Thanks for the update Josh - okay boys,” he clasped his hands together. “It’s time to meet the rest of your team.”

Wonwoo quickly realized this was less of a suggestion and more of a warning as the doors connecting the engineer’s dock to the main hallways opened rather suddenly. Four figures walked in and made their way toward them. The veteran rangers.

As they approached, it was clear that - while entering as a group - they were split off into their respective pairs. Wonwoo chalked this up to familiarity. He had been researching the habits and attitudes of rangers when completing his testing algorithm and it was common for them to create a solid team with other pairs but to ultimately place the majority of their trust in their own partner. Whether they realized it or not.

The first to seek out the new recruits was a tall man with a big smile on his face. His soft brown hair fell into his eyes a little but he didn’t bother to swipe it away. With positive energy radiating from him, it was clear that he and his serious looking partner were more complementary than an outright match.

“Wonwoo, right? I’m Mingyu,” he roughly pulled his partner over by placing an arm around his shoulder. “And this is Hao.”

“He means Minghao. Also known as The8,” The other man answered before pursing his lips and looking at his partner, “Gyu’s really fond of nicknames. And touching.”

Minghao, lanky with honey brown hair that was cut short in the front but left long in the back, squirmed a little in the touch but eventually settled into the other man’s arms. Despite having the giant man hanging on to him, he reached out a hand to shake. Wonwoo eagerly met the advance before letting the pair introduce themselves to Soonyoung.

He had been watching the news coverage from his lab when they took down a level 2 kaiju last March. He chuckled to himself a little remembering how the broadcast had portrayed Mingyu as much more serious than the man he was seeing in front of him now. It was nice knowing that despite basically being celebrities, the two were still approachable. He turned his head as the other pilots began to introduce themselves.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Junhui, most people just call me Jun tho,” the taller of the next pair smiled at them before thumping his partner - who had gone to talk to Jeonghan and the Marshal - on the back of the neck to get his attention.

“Jun, what did I say about touching my neck? Use your words!” He flicked Jun on the arm before reaching out a hand to Wonwoo, “Jihoon. Code name: Woozi. Squad leader here at SKS and this guy’s partner, unfortunately.”

Jihoon began to chuckle for about 0.2 seconds before Jun slapped a hand over his mouth, “He talks a big game but he wouldn’t be able to pilot without me. I mean, someone’s got to articulate all the thoughts that run through his head at light speed. I’m his right hand man - literally.”

Wonwoo detangled his hand from Jihoon, “Well, I’m Wonwoo and that’s Soonyoung,” he pointed at his new partner who was animatedly talking to Minghao - the pair had clearly found something in common.

“Oh, we know,” Jun replied while removing his hand from Jihoon’s mouth.

“You guys are piloting the Mark-4. Messes up my formations,” Jihoon deadpanned before letting a small smile tug at his lips.

“Well, Soonyoung had some ideas for that, I think.” Wonwoo thought about the piles of notebooks in their barrack before introducing the pair to his partner who immediately started going over battle plans with their new leader. Go figure.

From the corner of his eye, Wonwoo saw the two men from the kwoon room quietly debating something before they finally stood up from their Jaeger’s feet. As they made their way over to the group, the taller man pushed the other in front of him toward Wonwoo, catching the attention of the rest of the group. In return, the blue haired man gave him a scowled glance before turning to wave at the other rangers.

“I’m Boo Seungkwan! This is Hansol Chwe-“ “Just call me Vernon.” “and we’re piloting the other new Jaeger.”

The man’s smile spread across his slightly round face as the pilots made the rounds of introductions. The more he and his partner interacted with the group, Wonwoo was certain that they must have known each other before the compatibility tests just a few days ago. His suspicions were confirmed when the brunet off-handedly mentioned the time they’d spent together in university before signing up for the Jaeger program.

Introductions were cut short when the kaiju alarm went off.

From the panic that flashed through the veterans’ eyes and the way his stomach dropped to his feet, Wonwoo knew this wasn’t a test this time. There was a kaiju coming at them. Now.

Their feet moved without telling them to as each member of the team headed to their battle stations: Jihoon and Jun and Minghao and Mingyu up the engineers’ steps to their respective conn-pod launch pads, Jeonghan with them to initiate the neural bridge, Seungcheol up to the balcony bridge’s front row to oversee the fight, and Jisoo to the back row to manage stats. Wonwoo was halfway into the right hand chair beside Jisoo before he realized he wasn’t a statistician anymore. 

God, he’d been in this room at least a couple dozen times monitoring statistics - he felt useless now just watching. Not being able to predict drift stats and not being able to fight was taking more out of him than he’d thought it would.

Locking eyes with Soonyoung, he got out of the way as his replacement - a young kid named Chan - took the seat and began to run drift algorithms to sync the pilots with their Jaegers. The pair stepped to the back of the room as the men they’d just been joking around with prepped to go into battle.

“Looks like a level 2 kaiju coming out of the breach. Info’s coming up on the board,” Chan used a hand to push-expand a program from the holo-screen before him onto the wall monitor in front of the room.

The kaiju [CODENAME: HAMMERJAW] was measuring at 82 m, just slightly shorter than MoonWalker. With a soft underbelly, its main level of defense appeared to be two large, horn-like protrusions on either side of its mouth that would prove strong enough to knock a Jaeger off its feet. Looking deeper into the specs, Wonwoo noticed the monster’s back was also protected by plated scales that would make it nearly impossible to penetrate from behind. _Looks like a sneak attack from behind was out of the question_. 

From the small grunt from his left, Wonwoo figured Soonyoung had the same thought. The older man quietly explained the observation to the other two novice rangers who were huddled behind them. They hadn’t expected an attack so soon.

The Marshal grimaced before minimizing the stats and tossing the document back to Chan’s computer. Pulling down and spreading his arms to expand, he opened up four camera feeds inside the Jaegers - one for each pilot - onto the large semi-transparent screen. Jeonghan began to initiate the drift, his voice carried in over the comms.

“Okay, you guys know the drill. We don’t have time to chase the rabbit today so keep Thumper out of your heads, boys.”

Minghao’s feed showed the Chinese man smirking before he closed his eyes - the drift beginning to bind him and Mingyu together for the time being. Wonwoo watched the stats on Jisoo’s computer rise as the bridges between the pilots began to take shape. By the time all four of the rangers opened their eyes, sync compatibility had clocked in at 94% for AL1 and 93% for MoonWalker. After battling together for so long, he wasn’t surprised to see this type of affinity.

“Alright, the kaiju’s stats have been uploaded to your mainframes. HAMMERJAW’s a nasty looking fucker but you guys have fought worse. We’re going to drop you behind it once we get the all clear from engineering.” The Marshal had thrown away the pretenses he usually spoke to his subordinates with. They were his rangers. He’d been in their shoes - been scared shitless the way they were - and if he was going to direct them through a fight, he was going to do it his way. And that meant not skirting around the fact that they are all in a situation that very nearly could result in death. It had before.

“Alright, Jun you thinking what I’m thinking?” Jihoon’s voice came right into the room over the comms. His partner let out a soft giggle before replying.

“I mean we are sharing a brain right now. But, yes,” the taller man responded with an award-winning smile before addressing the other pilots, “Okay guys, MoonWalker is going to go for a left lateral approach while AL1 distracts the beast from the front. Hao, Gyu, you’ll have to get around it as quick as possible so it doesn’t detect when MoonWalker is dropped in. From there - use defense position lambda to hold it up by the mouth protrusions. We’ll use the arm blades from there to gut the sucker.”

Mingyu’s nose wrinkled a little at the mention of ‘gutting’ but the AL1 rangers quickly nodded along, agreeing with the point team’s plans. As Jun continued describing a few details, Wonwoo noticed Soonyoung was continuing to explain the terminology to the newer pilots. Vividly, with hand motions to show what the various battle positions looked like, he broke down the complex plans into something the younger duo could understand while still trying to process everything that was happening around them.

Wonwoo was glad his partner had gone through this before. He was glad he didn’t have to pretend not to know the entire extent of what it meant to see a real life-or-death Jaeger fight - glad he wasn’t the only one who’d been in this room before. He thought for a minute about how their lives had almost crossed paths so many times before the last week.

“Seokmin, where are we on Jaeger functionality?” The Marshal was speaking into a microphone that fed directly into the mechanical bay below. The lead engineer, a man with short brown hair and a strong nose motioned up to the bridge with a thumbs up before bringing a walkie to his face.

“We’re all set down here. You’re all clear for install and launch, I’ll be up to man the drones in a minute.”

“Okay, let’s prep for ascent then. It’s time to send this kaiju back to the hellscape it came from.” The Marshal hit a large button that caused the conn-pods to drop from their launch pads into the neck joints of their Jaegers, locking into place and finalizing the connection between man and machine. The undercarriage of MoonWalker’s plating began to flare up with incandescent strips of light, roaring to life with the heat of the machine’s central engine. AL1’s cannons began rotating before locking themselves in for the fight, loaded with missiles strong enough to take out a small battleship. Looks of solemn determination crossed onto the faces of each of the rangers. Jihoon, who Wonwoo had really only seen as apathetic toward the other team members (except Jun), started to give a small pep talk to his team as the Jaegers were lifted out of the hangers.

By the time the engineer made it up from hanger and launched the camera drones, the bridge was tense. From Seokmin’s cameras, they were finally able to see everything and as the Jaegers got closer to the breach, the kaiju became disastrously impressive.

It was a nasty looking thing - dark green, almost black skin with large protruding teeth that left it with a twisted looking smile. Wonwoo assumed the protrusions on either side of its mouth must be making up for its shorter arms and legs as the creature began to slither toward the coast.

AL1 was dropped into the ocean first and her pilots quickly began to initiate the operation’s plan. 

“C’mon Gyu, it’s getting too close to Jeju already. We need to stop it here before the fight affects anyone in the coastal villages,” Minghao yelled at his partner as they blitzed the beast from behind. Knocking into it, they caused little damage, but were able to get its attention in time to reach out and grab ahold of its horns and expose the soft underbelly. With a few well-placed kicks, they managed to subdue the monster slightly, if only for just enough time for MoonWalker to strike. But, as Minghao and Mingyu held onto the monster before it could move any further, the entire plan began to fall apart.

“Coups, we’ve got a problem,” Jihoon’s voice rang over the speakers.

“What do you mean by problem, Woozi?” Slight worry tinged the Marshal’s voice and then, “Seokmin, pull out the cameras and get a location on MoonWalker.”

The engineer panned out the drones, flying around the beast for a better look, and that’s when they saw it. The entire bridge set their eyes on what Jun and Jihoon were already staring down: a second kaiju.

“MoonWalker fall back, get out of its line of sight. If it sees you, it will leave you with no choice but to engage head on,” The Marshal turned toward the back row, “Josh, Chan, get me some stats on that thing. Now.”

The statisticians began scrambling, entirely baffled on just how they missed a completely separate monster coming out of the breach. Chan began furiously typing, trying to figure out how the algorithm could miscalculate like this as Jisoo began to utilize the drone footage to determine the kaiju’s attributes and potential weaknesses. Wonwoo couldn’t just stand there.

He’d spent his entire life dedicating himself to predicting the impossible, to solving unsolvable equations. He pulled a chair up beside Chan and started advising his replacement through the algorithms he’d created. As AL1 continued holding back HAMMERJAW, he bypassed the bridge’s security mainframe to expedite the program meant to calculate and display kaiju statistics. He tossed the new stats onto the front screen.

The room went quiet. The Marshal turned to look at him.

“Wonwoo, are you sure?” The whole room heard the desperation in his voice. He wanted this to be wrong, the whole room wanted this to be the first incorrect prediction Wonwoo had ever made. There was no way the two Jaegers out there could take on a level 3 kaiju right now.

Wonwoo didn’t look away from the Marshal’s eyes, “I’m sure.”

The Marshal sighed before masking his anxiety with a serious expression. He still had two ranger teams out there and wasn’t about to lose anyone else to these monsters.

“MoonWalker, AL1, the stats for the new kaiju are coming up now. CODENAME: SPIKESTALKER, watch out for the spiked glands along its back and head. Looks like it has some sort of acidic coating that will dissolve the iron plating of your mechs, so be careful.”

“I don’t know if we can hold this one back anymore,” Mingyu’s voice rang out over the comms from AL1’s conn-pod.

“If we engage any further though… it’ll alert the second kaiju,” Minghao continued his partner’s thought. The level 2 kaiju was getting nastier as the Jaeger kept trying to push it up, exposing the soft underside. Something had to be done about it. Now.

“Hold your defense position as long as you can. We just need to buy a little time.”

It was Soonyoung whose voice shouted over the bridge. He’d stepped forward from where he’d been explaining to Vernon and Seungkwan and was already halfway toward the helm. 

“You told me to bring you a top ten but I think I have something that can help us now.”

The Marshal knew better than anyone how deep Soonyoung had been going into defense positions lately. He was probably the only person who would’ve thought a solution to a situation this seemingly impossible. Just to prove that he could come up with something like that. He stepped back and let Soonyoung take the bridge.

“Okay, listen up guys. Woozi, The8 - you know that plan I was explaining to you right before the sirens started?”

“I remember,” the squad leader went over it in his head. From the puzzled look on Jun’s face, he’d clearly shared it with the other pilot.

“But we only have two Jaegers in commission to fight right now. We don’t have four available,” Minghao called out, grunting at the strain of holding HAMMERJAW up.

“You’re right we don’t have four. But, we do have a third. The Mark-2 is still being repaired but Wonwoo and I - our Jaeger is ready to go. The plan can be brought down to three but I’ve been going over every possible simulation since you first saw the second kaiju and there’s no other way for everyone to make it out,” Soonyoung’s voice caught in his throat just slightly as he finished. If anyone noticed, they didn’t mention it.

Jihoon sighed, the chance that these new rangers would be able to drift in time to help was slim to none. But they didn’t have a choice. He looked directly into the camera above him and nodded, “Do it.”

“You all heard him. Suit them up and get Twenty4Seven out of the mechanics’ bay as soon as possible,” the Marshal took back the helm and began instructing the two Jaegers to keep maintaining the territory until their reinforcement could arrive.

Wonwoo and Soonyoung were being escorted to their conn-pod before Wonwoo could truly process what was happening. He was going to pilot a Jaeger. Tonight. Yes, he knew that logically he would eventually pilot with Soonyoung, but he’d still tucked it away in his mind as something that would happen eventually. Something that was far off and after a lot of training and bonding exercises with his partner. He wasn’t sure if he was ready. As they began to change out of their fatigues so the drift technicians could secure them into their drivesuits, Wonwoo began to lose his breath.

“Hey, we can do this,” Soonyoung was right there. He pulled Wonwoo into his arms, “You can do this. You’ve been thinking nonstop about every negative outcome. And, after what happened, no one blames you. But we need to look at other possibilities. If we don’t go out there, they don’t stand a chance. But, even if we aren’t perfect at piloting yet, we can still be another mech out there to even out the score. All we need to do is distract them long enough, okay?”

Wonwoo pulled back to look at his partner. Soonyoung was right. They needed to shift the odds and give their new friends a chance. He wouldn’t lose another team.

“Okay, let’s go.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, drift technicians ran in and began stretching the latex of the skintight circulatory suits over their bodies. Clicking the polycarbonate shell pieces to the outside, a shiver went through Wonwoo as the techs set the spinal-clamp in place. He was fully suited up as a helmet was handed to him. He looked over at Soonyoung who was wearing a matching drivesuit that hugged his lean frame. As his eyes traveled up from his partner’s feet, his stomach eased a little when he saw the same goofy smile on his face that he’d come to find comfort in. They locked eyes and nodded before entering the conn-pod together.

Wonwoo stepped into the left ranger bay, his feet locking into place, as Soonyoung stepped into the right. Their respective arms locked into the Jaeger’s inner-engineering before drift technicians began to line up their spinal clamps with the conn-pod’s receptors, completing the connection. Wonwoo felt like his entire essence was floating out into the air around him, pushing from the spinal clamp like it was desperately trying to reach out to Soonyoung on the other side. He turned to look at his partner just to find the dark-haired man already looking back at him. They shared a brief silence as the technicians exited the pod - just looking at each other.

“Okay guys, normally you’d have a few shots at drifting for the first time but today we don’t have that luxury. So it’s one or done, we can’t waste any time. The drift will begin in 10 seconds. Initiating the neural handshake,” Jeoghan’s voice came over their intercom.

_ten… nine… eight…_

“Wonwoo, don’t chase the rabbit. Don’t let me overwhelm you, please.”

_seven… six… five…_

“I’ll be too busy looking for you, Soon.”

_four… three…_

“I’m right here.”

_two…_

“Me too.”

_one…_

As the drift began, Wonwoo felt like his whole being was being forcibly pushed into Soonyoung’s. And then he felt warmth. The brightest, safest feeling he’d ever experienced. If he had to describe it in words, he could only say it felt like coming home.

It took him a minute to realize the feeling was Soonyoung. But, as he thought of it, of course it was. This was the man who had managed to keep him calm all day, who had been nothing but a shoulder to lean on since they had first gone head-to-head a week ago. Then the memories started to flash by: his fourth birthday, the day his mother had taken him to the aquarium for the first time, when he taught his brother to play monopoly. Interspersed were memories he didn’t recognize: a father smiling and holding a trophy, a grandmother teaching small hands how to make dumplings. And then something began to settle over the memories like a dark cloud. A too-bright day, a kaiju, someone crying, a woman screaming, being pulled back, running. Soonyoung. This was the R.A.B.I.T.

He’d lost something… someone… someones. No one had been able to get past that before. He felt Soonyoung shutter. _He felt Soonyoung._ Wonwoo turned his head in what felt like slow-motion. Soonyoung’s eyes were closed and his head was shaking back and forth like he was caught in a nightmare. He was chasing a different R.A.B.I.T. He was going through Wonwoo’s memories. Yebin and Minkyung.

Wonwoo couldn’t move his body so he reached out to Soonyoung the only way he could. He pushed his mind until he was able to wrap his consciousness around his partner, to protect him from chasing further. 

_I’m here. I’ve got you._

_Wonwoo, you found me._

Soonyoung’s eyes opened and Wonwoo felt the home feeling again. They both came back to consciousness. The drift was complete. They’d done it.

Wonwoo felt the smiles that took over both of their faces as Jeonghan’s voice came over the intercom again.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve seen two rangers start to chase the rabbit and then both be able to pull themselves out of it before the drift could collapse. And you’re sitting steady at 98% so you guys are all set to go,” Wonwoo looked at the clock and realized that what felt like hours in the drift was less than two minutes, “We’ll celebrate your first drift when _everyone_ comes home today. Get ready, we’re locking your conn-pod into place and then you’ll get airlifted to the others.”

As the conn-pod was installed into the body of the Jaeger, they were instructed to test their reflexes. Wonwoo expected the perfectly tandem movement that results from the drift, but something about experiencing it for the first time had butterflies flurrying in his stomach. It was truly an extraordinary feeling. 

_Yeah, it is._

Wonwoo wasn’t used to having Soonyoung in his head yet. He’d expected to feel too full but rather he felt complete.

_Me too._

The pilots weren’t ready for the bright sunrise that met their eyes as they were lifted out of the Shatterdome. Brilliant reds and pinks flooded the sky as golden rays shined down on the sea. A sunrise was supposed to mean a new day, a fresh start. But as a small fleet of helicopters carried them toward the battle, the new pilots began to feel more like they were caught in a nightmare with no ending in sight.

The helicopters carried them toward MoonWalker and AL1’s position about 130 km away from the Shatterdome. As the Jaegers and the two kaiju came into view, they were patched into the other Jaegers’ comms.

“AL1, Woozi thinks we only have a few minutes left before the second kaiju is close enough to intercept you. If Twenty4Seven doesn’t make it, you’re going to have to engage HAMMERJAW more actively. We’ll buy as much time as we can with SPIKESTALKER.”

“Uh, Jun. I don’t think we’re going to have to hold out much longer, look,” Mingyu’s voice was strained but a twinge of what felt like hope colored the end of his sentence.

MoonWalker’s twin pilots watched as the helicopters released their cables, dropping Twenty4Seven into the water. Jihoon fleetingly imagined the morning sun looked like it was shining on the mech like a gift from god.

“Looks like we’re in this fight now. MoonWalker, are you ready?” Soonyoung and Wonwoo moved into a defensive stance in between the point-Jaeger and the second kaiju.

“Alright, Tweny4Seven maintain the perimeter between SPIKESTALKER and us. Now, let’s take down HAMMERJAW. Employ offensive technique Hoshi-1.”

Wonwoo, who previously had no idea what Soonyoung’s plan contained suddenly was picturing the scenario in his head. If his partner’s slight giggle at his confusion meant anything, he realized that the other ranger must have used their bond to send the information to him.

_Cool, isn’t it?_

_Yeah, Soon… cool. Now let’s try to keep this thing back._

As MoonWalker started to run toward AL1 and HAMMERJAW, Twenty4Seven’s pilots opened their arms as missile launchers began to shift out of the mech’s inner forearms. They stood as a wall between the two kaijus - inviting SPIKESTALKER to try to make it past them.

As the new pilots held the border, MoonWalker sideswiped the first kaiju. Blitzing it into a slight stupor, the Jaeger landed a few uppercuts in quick succession leaving AL1’s pilots enough time to extend the mech’s sword attachment. As they made quick work gutting the kaiju’s soft underbelly, HAMMERJAW let out a screech that had the rangers as well as everyone in command control wincing with the desire to cover their ears.

“We knew this would happen. Watch out Twenty4Seven, she’s coming right at you,” the Marshal’s voice crackled around their conn-pod.

_You thinking what I’m thinking?_

_Well, obviously. But yeah, let’s light him up._

As Wonwoo sent his last thought to Soonyoung, the pair simultaneously locked and loaded their arm cannons sending about two dozen short-range missiles raining down on the slowly advancing kaiju. The massive cannon-fire held SPIKESTALKER back for about 2 minutes before it was advancing toward them again. This time it was gaining speed.

Twenty4Seven’s pilots continued their assault as AL1 and MoonWalker disposed of their kaiju and then moved into position - completing the blockade on either side of their team’s new addition. They raised their nuclear cannons as Wonwoo and Soonyoung halted fire, letting the kaiju advance toward them unbridled.

“Alright guys, hold until I say,” Jihoon yelled through the comms. Mingyu grunted in response while Wonwoo forced out a quick ‘got it’ as he watched the kaiju get closer and closer.

Less than 30m away from their besiegement, the kaiju began to open its mouth as if it were going to try to swallow them whole.

_That’s it, Wonwoo. We have to shoot now._

As if their leader was processing the same thought, they heard Jun yell out for him, “Jihoon says we gotta do it right…….. NOW.”

On cue, all three Jaeger’s began to unleash all of the weapons available in their systems - refusing to allow the kaiju past their line of defense. AL1 and MoonWalker used plasma guns to aim to the sides of the monster’s head while Twenty4Seven sent a few fridge-sized grenades down its gullet. In less than a minute, they watched as the kaiju slowly stopped moving before whining out as the grenades decimated it from the inside out.

As the kaiju began to slowly fall back into the ocean, Wonwoo tried to catch his breath. They’d done it - he should be calmer. Hell, he should be ecstatic but all he could feel in the moment was everything catching up to him. He felt his lungs losing air as his vision became spotty. 

_Wonwoo!_

_Wonwoo!_

_WONWOO!_

Soonyoung’s voice in his head was the last thing he heard before he passed out.

-

His eyelids felt like they were glued shut and he swore someone had traded his tongue for sandpaper. As Wonwoo began to regain consciousness, he felt a strange sense of guilt come over him - guilt and immense worry.

He slowly opened his eyes to find himself tucked into a hospital bed, the IV slowly dripping next to him the only sound in the room beside soft snores. The ranger soon realized the little snores belonged to his partner who was camped out in a chair at the end of the bed - head and arms resting on the extra blanket over Wonwoo’s feet. Watching closer, he realized that Soonyoung was shaking a little like he was caught in another nightmare. Just like when he’d chased the RABIT. Wonwoo took a moment to realize the unfamiliar dread and fear in his stomach were not his own feelings. They were Soonyoung’s. But how?

He nudged his feet a little hoping to wake his partner from the restless sleep. Soonyoung stirred a bit more before opening one eye and then the other.

“You’re awake,” a soft smile crossed the man’s face, one round cheek still flattened against the bed.

“I am,” and then a few seconds later, “Are you okay, Soon?”

Soonyoung sat back in his chair, “Am I okay? Wonwoo, you’re the one that passed out mid-fight. You’re the one in the hospital,” he paused for a moment, “and it’s my fault.” The man began to mumble over and over about being the reason his partner had fainted. 

Wonwoo bolted up in the bed (if he winced a little, he made sure Soonyoung didn’t see), “It’s not your fault Soonyoung,” he reached down to grab the older man’s hand, “Most pilots faint the first time they drift. You know that. This isn’t like before. We did it, we piloted that Jaeger. I’d just never done it before so it took a lot out of me.”

“You know he’s right,” Jeonghan’s voice came from where the older man was leaning against the doorway. He swiped a piece of his bobbed hair out of his eye before continuing, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Hosh. He just hasn’t built up resistance from multiple drifts like you have. Give him a month, he’ll be a pro in no time.”

Wonwoo let out a soft laugh as their senior walked over to check his stats before clearing Soonyoung to escort Wonwoo back to their dorm once Wonwoo had eaten something. At that, a cafeteria worker brought in some bulgogi that he immediately began scarfing down. He hadn’t even realized he’d been starving until the drift coordinator had mentioned food. 

“Drifting takes a lot out of you - primarily electrolytes and calories - but also _emotionally_. You two should debrief your experiences post-drift while it’s still fresh,” the drift coordinator made his way through the door before turning his head back and then continuing in a low tone, “but wait until you’re in your dorm for a little bit of privacy first. We’ll do a team debrief in a couple of hours, so you have some time.”

Wonwoo tried to swat Soonyoung away from holding onto him as they walked back to their bunk but relaxed into the support once an instant calming feeling filled his chest. He chalked it up to still being a little winded from fainting. If he leaned close enough for his nose to fill with the powder scent of Soonyoung’s skin, who can blame him? He’s only human.

Soonyoung tapped the code into their door, holding it open for Wonwoo to make his way toward their beds. The curly haired man soon realized he’d been out for at least a few hours, morning long past as the clock on his desk signaled it to be around lunchtime. He sat on the edge of his bed, still reeling from everything that had happened earlier that morning. He expected his partner to do the same but much to his surprise the shorter man sat right next to him, pulling him into a tight embrace.

“Don’t do that to me again,” Soonyoung’s voice was muffled as he nestled in closer, breath hot on Wonwoo’s neck, “I can’t lose somebody again. Okay? I just can’t.”

Wonwoo brought his arms around the man as a few salty tears landed on his exposed collarbone, Soonyoung’s grasp pulling the collar of his t-shirt taut. One hand encircled the smaller man’s waist and the other began stroking his hair, keeping him close. After a few minutes, Soonyoung stopped crying and their breathing began to sync. In and out. In and out.

Just as quickly as Soonyoung had grabbed him, he began to pull away, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so clingy. I—“

He was cut off as Wonwoo pulled him close again, “Don’t. Don’t apologize. Just - stay - for a minute.”

They sat like that for what felt like hours before shifting so they were lying down, squeezed into Wonwoo’s too-small twin. Soonyoung cradled himself into Wonwoo’s chest, listening to his breathing. He reminded himself that Wonwoo was alive. He was alive. 

They just laid there. Breathing. Existing. Alive. Together.

Wonwoo felt that anxious worry creep up his spine again. Slowly it took over his mind, but still it felt foreign and strange. He looked at Soonyoung’s face and moved his hand up to smooth the worry lines in the man’s forehead.

“Stop blaming yourself for something you couldn’t have predicted. I can feel your worry from here,” he smirked a little, resting his palm on Soonyoung’s cheek.

Soonyoung stopped before abruptly tilting his head to face his partner, “Feel it?” 

“Yeah, like earlier when you were having that nightmare - at least that’s what I thought it was. Or when you were chasing the rabbit,” Wonwoo shrugged as best he could while lying on his side.

“But, you… you shouldn’t feel that. Not when we aren’t drifting. That doesn’t happen—” Soonyoung cut himself off, eyes going wide before ducking back into Wonwoo’s chest and mumbling something

“What is it, Soon?” He coaxed Soonyoung back into looking at him. He was confused as to what the older was trying to explain because obviously if he was feeling something that means it does, in fact, happen.

“Ghost Drift. It can happen for a variety of reasons but sometimes if pilots aren’t properly un-synced from the drift it can leave a,” he searched for the word he wanted, scrunching his lips into a little pout, “a backdoor. A backdoor that still connects the pilots even when they’re not drifting. There haven’t been a ton of cases of it from what I remember but the doorway can be opened to start feeling emotions, hearing thoughts, sometimes even projecting images between each other. I guess when you passed out… a door opened.”

“Is that bad?” Wonwoo tried to rub Soonyoung’s shoulder to calm the man down a little. He was talking a mile a minute and Wonwoo could almost feel his own teeth beginning to chatter.

“It’s not bad, per say. Just rare. Not a lot of people have experience. If the pilots aren’t particularly compatible and nobody, like, pokes at it or anything, usually it just… fades. I don’t know if anyone has really tried to use it outside of the drift.”

But that wasn’t them. They were nearly perfectly compatible. And, aside from the anxiety and fear that sometimes crossed the telephone wire of their bond, he quite liked the contented feeling he was getting from Soonyoung as he scooted closer into his arms. He didn’t want to lose _that_.

“But what if we didn’t let it fade,” Soonyoung wasn’t sure if he’d heard Wonwoo correctly. This man who was so obsessed with drift compatibility and finding a perfect pair was willing to risk adding another variable into the equation? They didn’t even know if this was something they could come back from if they tried it.

_The ranger’s mind flashed back to when he was on ShiningDiamond’s Jaeger team. When her pilots had come out of the drift one day looking at each other like they were having a conversation but neither were moving their lips. When the drift coordinator at the time brought them into her office. When they came out looking like the life had been sucked out of them. When they stopped looking at each other that way - at least in front of the team._

“We can’t tell anybody,” Soonyoung whispered. Wonwoo felt the inkling of fear spread through his partner.

“It can be our secret.”

-

The team debrief, they found out, was much less official as it was the team of Jaeger pilots getting together to break down how they could’ve beat it faster. More efficiently.

They were in some type of recreation room Wonwoo had never been to before. The room had a few vending machines with sports drinks and protein bars as well as a fridge that he was sure had something spoilt in it. Currently they were stretched out over a couple of couches surrounding a wall-mounted monitor.

Mingyu and Minghao were shoved into a loveseat with the skinnier man’s legs in the taller’s lap while Vernon and Seungkwan were sitting on the floor with their backs against the same couch (still not very sure why they were there at all). On one end of the larger couch, Jihoon was in the process of knocking Jun’s head off of his knee so he could stand up and change the page on the monitor. Wonwoo was against the opposite edge, an arm around Soonyoung’s shoulder - still not really able to let go of his partner in fear of losing the fragile calm state the man’s presence gave him. It seemed there was something about drifting that left most of the rangers sitting slightly closer than normal.

Jihoon dimmed the room’s fluorescent overhead lights and used the remote control to play the footage from this morning’s attack. Wonwoo watched as the two Mark-3 Jaegers waded in the water toward the first kaiju. He braced himself against Soonyoung knowing that soon they’d see the second rise from the murky water. Even still, he couldn’t stop the deep intake of breath as the spiked creature leisurely made its way to the other pilots. His grip tightened instinctively on Soonyoung as their Jaeger fell seemingly from the heavens into the water before the kaiju. His entire being felt surreal as he watched the events re-unfold in front of his eyes. He could feel Soonyoung’s wonder tickle up his spine.

As the almost two-hour clip rolls to an end, the soft slump in Twenty4Seven is the only thing evident to Wonwoo. That must have been when he was knocked out. When he lost consciousness and left Soonyoung to pilot by himself. When reckless became dangerous and both of them could have been lost. He feels Soonyoung rest his head on his shoulder, the heat of his cheek reminding Wonwoo that they were here - no longer in the middle of the ocean. They’re safe for now.

“There’s nothing different we could have done today,” Jihoon’s voice was soft but firm. He left nothing for any of them to question. “Everyone did exactly as they should have. You guys took every curveball thrown at you and made it work.”

He took a breath before continuing, “But now we have to plan for this sort of situation to happen - Every. Time. We don’t know what will rise up from the breach or when. Prediction calculations are out the window until this sudden change of situation can be understood and adjusted for.”

Minghao - who had been stone-faced, silently dissecting the earlier video - was the first to respond.

“What do you want us to do then, Woozi?”

“We need to train and continue getting stronger, both physically and mentally. In our pilot pairings and outside. If we’re going to work as a team, then we need to train like one. We need to eat, sleep, breathe as one. First things first, we need to work on integrating our new rangers into our regimens,” he clicked a button on his remote control and a spreadsheet labeled with exercises filled the monitor, “Specialized plans have been made for each of us. Senior rangers: our schedules are staying the same with a few minor changes. New rangers: each of you have your own specific plans where, like the seniors, half of your schedule is with your partners but - instead of personalized trainings the rest of the time - you will join the senior pilots’ individualized programs in order to shadow them. This way you can learn skills from rangers who have a lot more experience and the team can begin to create a solid base of trust and support between each other. Any questions?”

“Uh, will we get a printed version of these schedules?” Seungkwan’s voice came slightly nervous from his seat from on the floor.

“They’ll be in your dorm by the time you return tonight. Anything else? If not, I’d advise everyone to go eat, relax, sleep while you can. No one knows when the next attack will be and we need to be prepared to train early tomorrow morning. Everyone’s officially dismissed.”

Wonwoo gently removed his arm from around Soonyoung and stood, offering a hand to the latter. As the older man rose to his feet with a small hop, they sent small smiles to the rest of the now-mingling group before heading out. The stress of the day finally hitting them, sleep begging them to close their eyes and let their bodies continue to recuperate from the unprepared-for stress.

The trek to their dorm felt much longer returning than it did when they made their way to the meeting a few hours ago. The twists and turns seemed never-ending until they finally reached the cold steel of their bunk’s door. Wonwoo keyed in the code, hazy mind making him take a few tries before getting it completely right. He pushed through the small kitchen, too tired to even think about making anything more to eat. His stomach protested the idea of food as well, as if its opinion even mattered to him right.

He planted himself face first onto his bed and sat like that for about 0.2 seconds before his body almost automatically rolled over, making room in the still too-tiny space for Soonyoung. The twin bed squeaked slightly as the smaller man curled up and made himself at home in the other man’s arms. Wonwoo decided that next time (he was far too tired now to care) it’d probably be more comfortable to just push the beds together. If this were going to continue, that is. 

At least, he hoped it would. There’s something about coming out of the drift, he realized, that left him completely touch-starved. He assumed having someone as close to him as Soonyoung was - basically sharing a brain - would do that to a person. But then again, maybe this was something to do with the Ghost Drift. Either way, Wonwoo knew that letting go definitely wasn’t going to be an option anytime soon. Soonyoung’s attempts to cling closer led him to believe that the other felt similar. The little contented feeling projected in the back of his mind confirmed it.

Hours later, Wonwoo was still awake. Despite the completely drained feeling that left his body screaming, he couldn’t sleep. He’d been so tired he thought he’d sleep through the night. But, even with his entire being telling him he needed to sleep and recover from the day - every time he closed his eyes, all he could hear was Soonyoung’s voice: yelling, screaming, pleading with him to _just wake up_.

He realized that he was feeling his partner’s memories of when he blacked out. He hissed a little at the pain he realized Soonyoung had gone through. That he’d put him through. He pulled the other ranger closer, promising the older man and himself that he would do whatever he had to - train harder, push his mental state to the brink, drift and drift again - to keep that man safe.

He closed his eyes once more, exhaling slowly. He understood now why pilots were so close to their partners. The need to protect the one person in the world you know as intimately as yourself - the one person whose mind you’ve truly been inside of - is a feeling takes a permanent residence inside your heart. It’s like it grows two sizes just to contain the connection between them.

He tried to push happier thoughts into Soonyoung’s head, closing his eyes one last time for the night.

-

A soft beeping crescendoed into an intense buzz above his head. He tried to reach out to silence the alarm but realized both his arms were wrapped around Soonyoung still, pulling the man snug to his chest. He maneuvered an arm out and blindly toward the desk behind him, slapping down at random trying to turn off the alarm before it woke up his partner. Finally finding the small on/off button, he brought his arm back down and brushed the older man’s bangs from his eyes. It still felt unreal. And wet. _And wet?_

Wonwoo came to the quick conclusion that he had been drooled on, his shirt slightly damp where the other was resting his head. He let out a scowl and pushed the man off of him. Soonyoung let out a small ‘oof’ as he tumbled off the twin bed onto the floor.

“Well, good morning to you too,” he yawned before using the back of his hand to wipe away the remaining drool on his cheek. He smiled sheepishly at Wonwoo, “Sorry about that.”

Soonyoung rubbed the back of his head, tufts of hair sticking out in every direction. Wonwoo could see small bags under his eyes, the stress from the last 24 hours must have taken a big toll on him.

The shorter man got up from his place on the floor and reached a hand out to him, “Come on Wonu. Time to get ready for training.”

Wonwoo wasn’t sure if Soonyoung had noticed the nickname in his sleepy state but he really hoped there were more to come though.

After quick showers and changing into training fatigues, they decided to forgo cooking in their dorm and made their way to the main mess hall on the upper level of the base. It took a few minutes of stacking their plates with fried eggs, rice, and some fruit (Wonwoo basically had to force Soonyoung to take a few apple slices) to notice that several pairs of eyes were on them.

And, of course they were. They’d drifted and piloted for the first time yesterday - something basically unheard of. Wonwoo quickly nodded at the girl staring him down from a nearby table, not knowing how else to recognize all of the looks they were getting. He turned to Soonyoung and the other was basically preening in all of the attention. Like a peacock showing off his feathers, he had his chin held high and that brilliant smile on his face. Wonwoo didn’t have it in him to tell the other to quit it. That smile was just too dazzling.

He did, however, pull the other man over to a large table where some of the other rangers were waving them down. Pushing Soonyoung into the seat next to Minghao, Wonwoo tucked himself in next to Jun. As they began to dig in to their food, he looked up and saw the other new rangers walking through the door looking like absolute zombies - piling whatever could of their plates - before joining their table.

“Why do you two look like the dead? You do know we have training today, right?” Jihoon, who was sitting on Jun’s other side, didn’t even look up from the tactical file in front of him before scolding the two new faces.

“Don’t blame me. Vern was the one on his video tablet all night,” he gave a pointed look at the man next to him who was too busy slathering his food in what seemed like copious amounts of maple syrup.

“Weren’t you tired at all? I think I passed out the second we got back to our dorm,” Mingyu tried to pull Vernon into the conversation, waving a hand in front of his face.

Much to the entire table’s chagrin, the youngest at the table decided to answer with his mouth completely full, “My little sister, Sofia.” Chewing. “She’s studying in America.” Chewing. “Safer there.” Swallow. “She was freaking out after hearing about the attack and I had to let her know I was okay and the time difference isn’t great.”

Wonwoo felt Soonyoung send a gentle sadness over their bond. He wasn’t sure if he meant to broadcast this melancholy longing but he knew it had something to do with what he’d seen in the drift. Those flashes of pain and loss, something had happened to his family. He knew it wouldn’t help to bring up what happened in the drift yet, especially surrounded by their team. Instead, he tried his best to send across the wire what he could: he was there and he knew the pain too.

_You’re not alone, Soonyoung._

Soonyoung straightened up from where he sat next to Wonwoo as if someone had suddenly whispered in his ear. He sent a discreet look his partner’s way, putting a soft smile on his face. Silently thanking Wonwoo - his hand brushed the taller man’s fingers, squeezing them slightly.

They watched as the scientists, trainees, engineers, and other SKS staff slowly drifted one by one out of the dining hall. As Vernon stuffed the last of his sticky, sweet breakfast into his mouth and Minghao sipped on the last dregs of his tea, Jihoon stood up to go as well.

“Time to move out, boys. You know your training schedules - Hoshi, you’re with me,” The team’s leader nodded at them before turning to head out to the Strategy Bay. Quickly standing up to follow him, Soonyoung flashed a smile at the group and ruffled Seungkwan’s hair on his way out.

Wonwoo laughed slightly to himself before making eye contact with Jun, his mentor for the next few hours. He wasn’t exactly sure what the veteran pilot was planning for their first training session but he hoped it would help him keep from fainting the next time he and Soonyoung drifted.

“Shall we head out too, then?” Jun looked excited to introduce Wonwoo to his training schedule.

“Yeah, I’m finished here,” Wonwoo looked down at his plate that he hadn’t really touched. He’d nibbled on the apples but most of the rice had just been shoved around the plate - hardly eaten at all. Yesterday, he’d been so hungry after drifting; today, he felt like he’d rather throw up from nerves.

The brunet mentor nodded, understanding what Wonwoo was going through.

-

Jun’s specialty, as it turned out, was something Wonwoo desperately need to learn.

They had made their way to an exercise room across from the kwoon room. It was empty except for some folded mats in the corner, a shelf of small hand weights, and some monitoring supplies. Wonwoo locked the door behind them as Jun pulled open a curtain to reveal an entire mirrored wall. Selecting a few mats, they pulled them out to the middle of the floor with the monitoring gear and removed their shoes.

“As Jihoon’s partner, I spend most of my time translating his thoughts to the rest of the team. Outside of the drift, he has a way with words that can make anyone listen to him and respect his authority. Inside the drift however, he focuses most of his energy between quickly devising new plans and the physical aspect needed to enforce them. By running his mind through dozens of scenarios at once, he’s left without the space to vocalize these thoughts to everyone else,” Jun explained as he instructed Wonwoo through some basic yoga positions. They were connected by wired leads to the machines that monitored their stats as they tried to bring down their heart rates and improve their stress resistance.

“That’s where I come in. He uses the drift to pass these plans through our neural connection where I can communicate them to the other Jaeger pilots and the bridge. In my position, I’m required to keep a strong hold on my emotions. Responsible for processing all of the information he sends me and then explaining and executing the plans, my mind is put under an extreme amount of tension in the drift. In our pair, I also function as the anchor - for him, the Jaeger, and the team,” he pushes on Wonwoo’s back to straighten it before tapping his leg to push him into a pigeon pose. The younger ranger was a bit more flexible than Jun had originally thought.

“Every team has an anchor. Me. Mingyu. You.”

Wonwoo looked up at him, a small look of surprise on his face.

“I’m the anchor? But I wasn’t even the real pilot to begin with. I—, I’m the one who fainted,” Wonwoo slumped down a little in his pose.

“Yes, and don’t be so surprised about it,” Jun stretched out into a child’s pose, “Tell me: why do you think you fainted, Wonwoo?”

He wasn’t experienced… He wasn’t a pilot… He didn’t know what he was doing out there. He said as much.

“That’s not it at all. Yes, inexperience makes it difficult to drift. But it’s more about the _way_ you and your partner drift,” he sat upright with his feet pulled in to make a butterfly, gesturing for Wonwoo to do the same.

”You are a support pilot in the same I am. While our partners are focusing on the strategic, physical aspects of piloting - something that makes sense for Soonyoung and Jihoon who spent years as trainees - we are there to fill in the gaps of their ability.

“For Jihoon, I act as his voice. That includes the communication aspect but also to give him the words he’s missing in his own head as he thinks. I literally finish his sentences. For you and Soonyoung, you’re the only person who’s been his equal since he joined the ranger program. Your background in algorithms and statistics supplies the missing information for his brain to complete its plans. You understand his experiences well enough to be able to offer what he needs while piloting - physically and emotionally. Your team is able to make up for your lack of experience by utilizing Soonyoung’s history to pilot and your emotional state to maintain the drift.”

Jun smiled at Wonwoo before reaching out a hand to grip his shoulder.

“You fainted because you hadn’t been trained to take on that emotional stress before. You did fine drifting - just look at the way you pulled your partner out from chasing the rabbit. You just need to learn balance.”

They shifted into new poses, Wonwoo soaking in the new information as it began to take place in his mind. As he tried - miserably - to copy Jun, he started to balance himself on one leg, raising his arms into tree pose. Another question passed through his mind.

“Did you and Jihoon always know you’d be drift compatible?”

Jun shifted into warrior pose, “God no. We weren’t even on each other’s radar.”

Wonwoo lost his balance as he whipped his head toward his new mentor, toppling slightly into a crumpled pile of lanky limbs on the floor.

“How did you even get to be partners then?” He, splayed out flat on his back, far more interested in this story than the specialty poses Jun was continuing to contort himself into.

“I was supposed to be Minghao’s drift partner originally. When the Shenzhen Shatterdome was closed and broken down with budget diversion to the coastal wall plan, we were shipped over here with a handful of other recruits with good solo drift compatibility. The other trainees dropped out one by one until only Minghao, myself, and a girl named Jieqiong were left. She ended up getting drafted into the PRISTIN initiative, leaving the two of us. We spent about six months training together, trying to drift constantly. But we just weren’t compatible. They were about to kick us from the program when I met Jihoon,” Jun smiled a little to himself, ending his yoga session to flop down on the mat next to Wonwoo.

“I don’t know what it was that drew me to him. Something about him just made me want to sit and listen to him speak. I spent weeks following around like some stray kitten before he even told me his name. Then, we drifted. It was a training day where they randomly selected drift pairs and we started up at nearly 85%, holding steady. It’s been all up from there. We started training together and getting to know each other better, I swear from that day on he was the one that went out of his way to spend all of his time with me. We just… clicked into place.”

Wonwoo took a deep breath, “What about Gyu and Hao?”

Jun let out a breathy chuckle.

“Don’t let Minghao hear you calling him Hao just yet. He usually reserves that privilege for a few months down the line. He didn’t even let Gyu call him that until they killed their first kaiju.” 

Wonwoo felt a blush run over his cheeks in slight embarrassment. Jun let out a laugh before continuing.

“I’m not sure exactly what it was about Gyu that Minghao found comfort in but they were pretty inseparable from the day Mingyu was transferred from the engineering program into the ranger program. He’d been working on calibrating drift leads in the conn-pod when he was tapped into being a trainee. They just had some sort of unspoken ease together from the moment they laid eyes on each other. It’s like Minghao could instantly be himself around Gyu- something that took me years of trust-building to earn. I think their original drift compatibility was even better than Jihoon and I’s. 88%, I think?”

Wonwoo realized their stories were like his and Soonyoung’s, in a way. None of them were meant to be partners. They’d just found each other at the right moment and hadn’t looked back.

“You never know who’s going to be good for you until you just let them in, you know?” Jun sent a soft smile his way.

Sending good thoughts across the telephone wire between him and Soonyoung, Wonwoo was surprised to feel comfort rolling back up his spine almost as quickly. He let a content look drift onto his face as Jun began to instruct him through the remainder of their training session.

-

Training with Soonyoung turned out to be a completely different situation. Instead of the calm, serene stretching he’d done with Jun, they were going to start drifting more regularly. 

Wonwoo was nervous. He knew Soonyoung had already been in his head before, seen everything that makes him _him_. But he also knew that when they first drifted, Soonyoung wasn’t really poking around at his mind or through his memories. They were so focused on getting out there to support their team that they tried to drift as quickly as possible.

“Wonwoo, Hosh, try not to chase the rabbit this time, okay?” Jeonghan’s voice patched into the conn-pod from his vitals station outside the simulator. He was setting up the monitors for their stats as the rangers pulled on their drivesuits and technicians began to connect the shelled pieces to the outside. Once locked into the the spinal-clamp’s receptors in the simulator pod, Jeonghan began initiating the drift.

Wonwoo felt the now all-too-known feeling of their brains beginning to mash together and become one. The heat of Soonyoung’s mind a comfort he relished as the memories began to pass in front of his face. He smiled at seeing a baby Soonyoung taking his first steps, himself as a toddler watching baby sea turtles hatch on the beach, Soonyoung dancing to some prehistoric hip hop beat, the first time he’d kissed another man. He felt Soonyoung trying to reach out to him at that, like he wanted to let Wonwoo know it was okay to share. He let go of the memory as the images began to flash in front of his face quicker, like a projection running out of film as it reached the end. An awkward middle school dance. A hot, summer hike. Graduating college. A family breakfast. That’s when it all went south.

Something was off about this family. Sitting at this table laughing as if nothing else in the world mattered except for this moment, right here. Wonwoo walked around, seeing a teenage Soonyoung sitting at the table next to a long haired girl with the same full cheeks and brown eyes. _That must be his older sister_ . He could hear the news in the background. Turning, he saw an overzealous meteorologist giving a summer update for the upcoming festival weekend. He listened for a minute before it dawned on him where _and when_ he was.

_August 16, 2027. The Late Summer Lantern Festival. RIDGETAIL._

Wonwoo turned around in what felt like slow motion. By the time he reached the younger Soonyoung, he was forced to watch as the foot of a kaiju came through the roof of the small house. There was screaming. Wonwoo didn’t even realize it was himself screaming as he watched Soonyoung seeing his parents die right in front of his own eyes. 

Soonyoung’s sister was grabbing his arm, pulling him away from the half crushed table, trying anything just to make him move away from the scene in front of him. As the teenage Soonyoung turned toward him, he caught the man’s eye and it was like the floor disappeared from beneath him. He was falling. 

He woke up still connected to the spinal receptors. Mindlessly detaching himself from the simulator, he ran to his partner. Soonyoung was panting, his pulse skyrocketing as Wonwoo disconnected him from the mech and pulled him close.

_It was a memory. You’re not there. You’re here with me. I’m real. I’ve got you. It was a memory. You’re not there. You’re here with me. I’m real. I’ve got you. It was a memory. You’re not there. You’re here with me. I’m real. I’ve got you. It was a memory. You’re not there. You’re here with me. I’m real. I’ve got you. It was a memory. You’re not there. You’re here with me. I’m real. I’ve got you. It was a memory. You’re not there. You’re here with me. I’m real. I’ve got you._

Wonwoo continued the mantra in his head while rubbing Soonyoung’s back. He wasn’t going to let him go through this alone. 

Jeonghan called off training for the rest of the day. Wonwoo carried his partner back to their dorm.

-

Soonyoung didn’t want to talk about it for a few days.

In the mornings, he’d wake up before Wonwoo, leaving his bed cold and empty as if he hadn’t even been there to sleep in it. He ate breakfast before any of the other rangers could even get to the mess hall. He trained as expected but something was missing from his eyes. It was like he was on autopilot, too embarrassed to let Wonwoo be there for him. And Wonwoo was sick of it.

There hadn’t been a kaiju attack in a few days and the energy around the Shatterdome was getting unnerving. Even the trigger-happy, new trainees wandering the halls seemed a little bit more antsy than usual. If they still weren’t talking by the time another monster came out of the breach, they were screwed.

So, he did the only thing he could: he cornered his partner before he could leave their shared barrack. Barricading himself in front of the door of their bedroom with sleep still caught in his eyes and glasses perched haphazardly on the tip of his nose, he gave the older man a soft smile.

“Soon, you have to talk to me. This isn’t something you need to carry alone. I can feel the weight it has on you, how heavy it is to hold that much burden on just your shoulders. You need to let me take some of it for you. It’s okay to let me help.”

“You didn’t sign up for this though. It’s not fair to you, Wonu.” Soonyoung rubbed one sock-clad foot against the other, looking for any way out of this conversation.

“Yeah, Soon, I did. The minute I set my foot back down in the kwoon room, I signed up for this. I’m your partner and that means supporting you. So you have to let me take some of that emotional weight if this is gonna work,” he paused before continuing, “I just-, I can’t back you up in the drift with all of the piloting know-how, I’ll never catch up to you there... but this? This is something I can help you with. Please, Soon, just let me help you.”

Wonwoo let Soonyoung push them into their small kitchenette before taking a seat at the table next to the shorter man. The silence seemed almost deafening for a minute as they both averted their eyes, not exactly sure who should talk first in the situation. Wonwoo hesitated for a second before reaching his hand out and placing it on top of where Soonyoung had let his palm rest on the cool metal.

“Tell me what you want to tell me. It’s up to you,” it was little more than a whisper.

He felt soft feelings pulse through their link as Soonyoung turned his hand over to grasp stronger at Wonwoo’s. The older man slotted their fingers together before holding tight and looking up at Wonwoo.

“After that day, it was just my sister and I for a while. We didn’t have anywhere to go, our house was destroyed, the whole town was. We lost everything,” the older man’s sadness became evident as the bond darkened and Wonwoo squeezed his hand again to calm him down.

“So, we moved from our little beachside town to a bigger city and my sister, Nayoung, she did what she had to so we had a roof over our heads. She worked non-stop doing these odd jobs all over the city; she would waitress one night, clean houses the next, babysit, you name it. But she wouldn’t let me help. She made me finish school and while I know now why it was so important, I couldn’t help but feel so completely helpless,” Soonyoung used the sleeve of his pajama top to wipe away the tears that were beginning to fall down his face, “There was nothing I could do to help my parents and now there was nothing I could even do to help keep our apartment. I didn’t have control over anything anymore.

“When I graduated and got offered the job here, I jumped at it. It was like I could finally do something. By helping fight kaiju, I could avenge my parents and be someone they could be proud of, and the pay was enough for Nayoung to live comfortably and go back to school herself. Hell, a few years later she even came here to join me. Well, sort of. She’s over in PRISTIN, but I’m not even sure how much longer that’ll last. After what - what happened.”

Wonwoo sighed thinking about Yebin and Minkyung. It made sense Soonyoung would have a connection with them too. Those rangers and their team were popular with everyone around the SKS. With a small nod, he let Soonyoung continue.

“It’s not that I never realized that my past could be a problem with drifting - I just never thought I’d have to deal with it. No one’s ever gotten over more than 53 seconds drifting with me before you came along. And, when we did it the first time, I guess I got too cocky. I thought we’d be fine every time, that you were just stressed from drifting for the first time. But when you came back from training with Jun, excitedly babbling about taking on my emotions for me, it became too much. All those helpless feelings rushed back. I thought about you fainting, the emotional stress I put on you was too much. How could I put you through that again? I was stuck in a place where there was absolutely nothing I could do to fix the situation.”

“That’s not fair. I know you’re not going to believe me right now, that no matter what I say - words will feel empty compared to all you’ve been through. But I will keep saying it until you start to accept it: you’re not alone in this. We have a partnership Soonyoung, and I’m not going anywhere. So give some of it to me, even if it’s just an ounce of all you deal with. We can start there. Let me learn how to carry you. You’ve carried everything and everyone for so long, let me take care of you. You just have to let me in.” Wonwoo looked down at the table as he finished. He didn’t realize how tightly he was holding onto Soonyoung’s hand - if he’s honest, he was scared that if he let go, the man might still try to run away again.

But Soonyoung just sat there. He didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He just kept holding onto Wonwoo like his life depended on it. Even as the silence continued, Wonwoo felt the fear dissipate to the back of his mind, replaced by a new found serenity exuding from his partner. He tasted a piece of what could only be described as acceptance color his whole body. The Soonyoung he’d originally known was back, not completely erasing the trauma and fear but learning to live beside it, coexisting and strengthening despite its presence.

And that’s all Wonwoo could really ask for. He would hold onto this new piece of him that Soonyoung had trusted him with. He would continue trying to understand the things that made his partner who he was and use that rare knowledge to be a better partner, friend, shoulder to lean on. He would protect this man no matter what they faced in the future. He would do absolutely everything in his power to keep Soonyoung from ever having to worry about experiencing that loss again.

As he pulled the older man back to their bedroom, he was met with no struggle. No more excuses of extra training, no more pretending he had somewhere else to be just to leave before Wonwoo woke up. 

Soonyoung leaned against the doorway as Wonwoo pushed the two twins together against the wall. If they were going back to feeling the need to share a bed, they might as well not continue trying to comfortably sleep two people in one small, cramped bed.

“We should just request a double bed, Coups and Jeonghan had one when they piloted,” Soonyoung mumbled against the pillow as they pulled the covers closer, still several hours from needing to actually get up for training.

Wonwoo yawned before wrapping an arm around Soonyoung’s waist. “Yeah, but that was before the SKS actually got funding. I highly doubt barracks staff will approve that now.” 

“Hmmm… I might know a guy who can hook us up.”

“You mean the Marshal, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

-

A few months later and the only kaiju activity the SKS had seen was a level 1 that took AL1 less than an hour to take down solo. It seemed the prediction statistics were back to an acceptable margin of error (read: none). Training was just as grueling though, maybe even worse.

Wonwoo’s body was starting to show definition in places he didn’t even know he _had_ muscles. He’d been in shape before this all happened, had passed the same physical exam everyone at the SKS had, but this was different. The new pilots were all put into a ranger bootcamp just to get them to speed with the current pilots. At first, just trying to keep up with Soonyoung on the indoor track had left his legs feeling like they were burning and his lungs heaving out of his chest. But now, here he was - somehow keeping pace with his energetic partner while managing to have enough breath to keep egging the other man on. A man who previously prided himself on being able to do ten sit ups in a row suddenly found the etch of abs so nicely toned on his own soft skin. Sometimes when he looked in the mirror, he wasn’t even so sure he recognized himself anymore.

To be fair, Wonwoo wasn’t the only one who was changing. The more he looked at Soonyoung everyday - _And how couldn’t he? They spent every waking moment with each other and Soonyoung had somehow actually conned the Marshal into that double bed_ \- he noticed the way the older man was bulking up in a completely different way. He’d already been strong, was used to working out everyday to prepare for an attack. But when they spent hours together in the kwoon room, syncing their fighting style - it was like they were creating a more and more powerful mental connection. 

Wonwoo figured meeting his match mentally was triggering something in him physically, too. He was still lean in the way he always had been but his arms and legs were stronger than they’d been before. The muscles slowly peeking out against the latex of the drift suit, hard to the touch. When it came to Soonyoung though, sometimes Wonwoo wouldn’t even realize he was staring until the other man poked his mind through the bond.

_I know I’m pretty but my eyes are up here, Wonwoo._

Wonwoo just make himself busy again, pulling his own drivesuit tight against his abdomen as a tech zipped it snuggly against his back. He wrung his gloved fingers together before pushing a hand through his hair, trying to clear his head before Soonyoung pushed too far into it that moment.

They were going to be drifting again today. Jeonghan had given them a pass after the day they both chased the rabbit too far - placing them on a regimen of emotional bonding and conditioning - but they were due for another attack any day now and the other new pilots were already drifting rather regularly. They were hopeful though, unable to not acknowledge how their ghost drift had been growing stronger by the day. Not that the drift coordinator knew that.

So when they stepped into their conn-pod, Wonwoo couldn’t really stop feeling slightly giddy with the way Soonyoung kept sending little good luck messages through their connection. Something was different now. After they’d spent that early morning a few months ago getting onto the same page, it was like a switch had flipped. He still wasn’t sure exactly what he’d done to gain Soonyoung’s trust the way he had, maybe just actually being there for the man was enough, but he was sure that Soonyoung knew that he had Wonwoo’s as well.

With Jeonghan faintly count down in the background, he couldn’t keep his eyes or his mind away from Soonyoung. He knew what to expect this time, had seen enough of the other man’s mind to understand how to be there for him this time. He didn’t even notice the memories flashing in front of his mind, didn’t see anything but Soonyoung’s deep brown eyes staring right back at him. He saw what could be small galaxies - the answers to their universe in them.

As Wonwoo coaxed the older man to him, he ever so softly felt Soonyoung’s mind reach out to his. Their minds beginning to meld once again, he noticed that home feeling curl up into his stomach. It never really left him the first time, but now it was like he could feel it spreading through his entire body.

This time there was no stopping, there was no chasing. He was here with Soonyoung and he didn’t need to run after a passerby memory when he had the real deal right here.

_It’s just us, Wonwoo. Let’s do this._

Before they knew it, the drift was complete. They were steady and holding at 99%, almost perfectly aligned. Technically, this is what Wonwoo had been searching for over the last two years. In reality, he looked at Soonyoung. He found what he’d been searching for anyway.

“Looks like you guys got past the rabbit this time without even trying,” Jeonghan’s voice came over the comms system. “Guess my suggestions paid off. Take a few minutes to get used to the feeling and then we’ll terminate the connection so we can try again. We need to get at least 3 reps in today before lunch.”

By the time they were done drifting for the day and heading to the mess hall, Wonwoo could feel a headache from where the spinal clamp connected to the base of his neck. He didn’t even recognize immediately that it was Soonyoung who reached his hand up to lightly rub the area. He also didn’t say anything when the dark-haired man left his arm around his shoulders as they walked farther down the hall, using his own arm to pull Soonyoung closer by the waist.

They saw their familiar table full of the faces they’ve come to depend on and took their normal seats, if not a little closer than before. If anyone asked, Wonwoo would just chalk it up to be inside each other’s heads all morning.

No one asked. They’d all been watching the two of them over the last few months, it was clear to anyone who spent enough time with them that something was going on. To be fair, it wasn’t completely unexpected. It’s a known fact that the better the general chemistry, the better the drift compatibility ends up being. Most of the ranger pairs seen in the last decade usually ended up with intensely close relationships. Sharing that level of intimacy kept you close - the other pilots at the table knew that all too well.

So, when Soonyoung not-so-secretly interlocked his small fingers in Wonwoo’s grasp, no one reacted much more than a slight eyebrow raise from Jun before going back to their lunch.

“So now that we have a fully trained team, we should start talking strategy Soonyoung,” Jihoon called across the table, still chewing on the large amount of rice he’d just shoveled into his mouth.

“Yeah, I can have my notes digitized and sent your way by tomorrow morning. If you have any edits, just let me know and I’ll adjust the positions before distributing them to everybody else,” Soonyoung spoke before blowing on his jajangmyeon.

It wasn’t long before the two of them along with Minghao were entranced in yet another planning discussion. Wonwoo tried to keep up for the first fifteen minutes before letting his now-full stomach lull him to daydream. He wondered how much longer this would be his life. It wasn’t what he’d imagined for himself and it still seemed surreal to even let himself think about what he did on a daily basis now. He was caught up in his own thoughts when he felt a soft feather-like touch in the back of his mind.

Soonyoung wasn’t looking at him, still chatting with the other pilots. But he was thinking of him, reaching out to remind Wonwoo that he wasn’t forgetting about him. They were still pressed up against each other so it’s not like Wonwoo thought Soonyoung could forget… but something about the way he reached to him had him melting like jelly anyway. He re-laced his fingers with Soonyoung’s hand, having broken off before to eat and chat. He was content to just sit there connected to this man who had so quickly become the center of his new world.

But when had Wonwoo ever been left to enjoy something for more than a few, rare seconds?

-

The sirens went off as well as flashing lights throughout the mess hall. Another kaiju attack was about to happen. Their bodies moved before their minds could even fully process the situation, heading toward the jaeger docks.

He didn’t even realize what was happening around them until he saw the way all of the trainees and officials parted like the sea in front of them. A sea of faces of people he knew, people they were now in charge of protecting at all costs. Faces that didn’t even include his parents and siblings - sitting at home probably unaware of how their son was now gearing up to fight a monster that threatened their very livelihoods.

Wonwoo realized he was still holding Soonyoung’s hand as the rangers ran down the hall. He squeezed it as they all shoved into an elevator, Mingyu hitting an emergency button that would bring them straight up to the mechanics’ bay.

They dropped hands as they exited the elevator and took the stairs two at a time to their respective drivesuit rooms. He shivered as the latex suit was zipped onto his body for the second time that day. As the polycarbonate exoskeleton was attached to his chest, arms, and legs he kept his eyes on his partner - determined to uphold his end of the bargain this time around.

Drifting felt like always: a current of warmth entered his being and he made a home for Soonyoung in his mind. By the time the neural handshake was complete, a fully detailed stat sheet spread in front of their eyes on the conn-pod’s holo-screen. They were holding at 99% again, with the other ranger pairs standing in the mid 90s not far behind. They heard the marshal over the intercom.

“Ok, boys, this one is a bit of a knockout. Level 3 - CODENAME: BLADEWING - she’s about 10 m smaller than MoonWalker but watch out for the spiked pinions on her back. What she lacks in height, she’s gonna make up for with those taloned wings. This is the first time we’re going to have all four jaegers in action so take care not to overcompensate. We need to cut her off from getting closer to the city.”

Wonwoo looked at the monster’s stats - the bulk of her mass made up the oversized extensions coming from her back, leaving her neck almost completely vulnerable to attack. One swipe from an arm blade and that’d have her done. The real issue would be keeping her in the water and not letting her pass the 30 km line from the coast. Any closer and the kaiju’s blue blood would affect the next month’s fishing exports - forget saving the coastal cities today, the whole region wouldn’t have anything to eat a week from now. The best simulation would have them defeating her without spilling any blood - but how?

Suddenly Wonwoo felt a million plans enter his mind like some rolodex of battle strategy. He almost immediately recognized it as more detailed versions of the formations from Soonyoung’s notebooks. An infinite amount of details, spread out for every scenario in a matter of moments - his partner was truly a genius in his own right. A fact Wonwoo already knew, but seeing this part of Soonyoung’s mind in action was some kind of beautiful he couldn’t describe.

Wonwoo ran the probabilities of each idea Soonyoung threw his way until he finally found one that kept the creature far enough back to attack without fear of the aftermath. They could try to take her down without resorting to slashing her throat but if worse came to worst, they could do so without having to take too much extra caution.

_That’s the one, Soon. Tell them._

Once their conn-pods connected with the shoulder rigs of their jaegers, Twenty4Seven’s rangers were connected to the rest of the machines via comms. The first thing they heard was Jun speaking on Jihoon’s behalf, relaying some basic battle formations before asking Minghao and Soonyoung for their input on tactics.

_Go on, Soon. It’s the only way._

It took almost the entirety of the helicopter escort to the breach to detail out Soonyoung’s strategy to the rest of the team. From the little gasps of shock that dropped from Mingyu and Jun’s mouths, Wonwoo was pretty sure they were at least a little crazy. But god, he knew this could work.

_I need your help, Wonwoo… to put this in words._

“Guys, I’ve been going over the statistics of the situation since Soon and I linked - we have a near 84% chance of being able to take it out right here without actually spilling any kaiju blue. Please, you have to trust us.”

“Ok fine, let’s do it. AL1, 9Teen - hold defense position omega. Twenty4Seven, offense position iota. Anticipate further instructions from Jun if plans change.”

The Marshal’s voice came back over the intercom: “I know you guys know what you’re doing, but remember to avoid anything that’ll cause too much damage to your rigs. Seokmin is still trying to patch up some of the mechs from your last brawl.”

“We’ll do our best… Coups.” Soonyoung giggled before turning his face to a more serious note. “Let’s get this fucker.”

AL1 and 9Teen were dropped first - about 20 m in front of BLADEWING, they began to taunt the giant. Shooting off small rounds and using the fresh, flourescent yellow paint on 9Teen’s upper body to reflect light into the kaiju’s eyes, they distracted the monster as MoonWalker was dropped into the water on the monsters left.

The Marshal and the rest of the command bridge watched from Seokmin’s drones as BLADEWING advanced toward AL1, completely unaware of Twenty4Seven being dropped in behind her. She moved slowly, weighed down by her heavy wings.

Wonwoo and Soonyoung took their first couple steps forward, their comms completely silent as their entire team watched them sneak up on this monster. Maybe they would never be able to out-brute kaiju, but fuck, could they outsmart them.

They advanced until they were right up on it, AL1 still gunning out small bullets to keep her attention. They raised their sword, intending to slice off her wings, leaving the creature fully exposed to attack. They weren’t counting on her catching sight of them in the reflection of 9Teen’s face plate.

As the kaiju turned around, they were face to face with her and their plan was out the window.

_We have to move, NOW._

Wonwoo couldn’t agree anymore. They ducked as she reached out a short arm to knock off their conn-pod, using the edge of their own winged back to smack the creature off steady footing. 

“9Teen - the cabling. Use it now!” Jun yelled through the comms as MoonWalker tried to sideswipe the kaiju into more of a daze. AL1 continued firing off shots into the monster’s soft stomach - moving from inconsequential bullets to small misslie prototypes that could seek out the kaiju’s heat signature.

Twenty4Seven pulled out of the way again, another near miss from the monster’s strike as reinforced, steel cables propelled out of 9Teen’s hand attatchments, hogtying the wings before they could spread anymore. As they pulled tight, BLADEWING was pulled back off her feet. 

As 9Teen held her back, Wonwoo watched as MoonWalker and AL1 each grabbed one of her feeble arms, keeping her from being able to move at all.

_Let’s end this, Soonyoung,_

All of South Korea watched as this new jaeger walked forward to what seemed like an inevitable evil and ended its life with a simple _snap_. 

Wonwoo watched as the color drained from the kaiju’s scaly skin. 

They’d finally won and this time Wonwoo had been able to keep up with his partner. He looked at Soonyoung, whose face was surprisingly solemn. He’d expected smiles and cheers to be on the older man’s face, not disappointment.

-

The rest of the evening was a blur: the jaegers were airlifted back to the SKS and the pilots immediately shoved into post battle interviews. Wonwoo and Soonyoung had missed these last time and Wonwoo was quite sure he’d be fine missing them anytime if they were always going to be this pretentious.

Introduced as a new ranger team comprised of a former drift tech turned pilot and a statistician, it wasn’t long into the interview that it became more about their background and story than trying to keep kaiju at bay. Wonwoo felt poked and prodded by their questions - one journalist describing them as some ‘rags to riches’ pair and another pushing a ‘strangers to partners to ???’ storyline on them.

Soonyoung was different in front of these people too, a natural if there ever was one. That somber expression was gone, replaced by a dazzling smile and easy charisma that Wonwoo couldn’t really tear himself away from. He was in the middle of answering a question about how they chose their fighting style when the Marshal announced that interviews would be over for the day so the entire team could debrief.

Moved off the stage into another room, Wonwoo felt Soonyoung lean his head onto his shoulder.

_You ok?_

_Not now, I’ll tell you later. We still have some other stuff to finish here first._

After a debrief similar to their first - focused on redistributing training regimens and clocking more hours on the simulators - the pair finally got back to their joint room, collapsing onto the bed.

Wonwoo had his hands behind his neck, Soonyoung making claim to the space on his chest where his heart was only finally starting to slow down. They lay like that for a while - just glad that the other was safe this time.

Soonyoung spoke first. “I don’t know why I got like that earlier. Killing the kaiju just didn’t make me happy… and I know it should have. They’re coming here to kill us - but god, it still didn’t make it any easier to watch it _die_. I just feel like I failed somehow. We won but is this always going to be the cost? Will I win the war but lose myself?” He looked up at the younger man, just wanting an answer - anything.

But Wonwoo was out of answers. There was no easy way to comfort him. There were no simple solutions. No matter how many simulations they went through, how many battles they had taken part in from a control room - it couldn’t possibly compare to having to actually kill something. Even the first battle they’d fought - they were distanced from it by space and fear over Wonwoo’s sudden collapse. But actually holding that life in their hands and taking it? That was a burden only few had to carry and included them now.

So he did what he could. He pulled Soonyoung closer to him, letting tendrils of understanding create a safe border around the two of them as they lay there.

In the past few months, they’d been each other’s saving grace in this war. Their bond creating a way of understanding each other like no other, they’d been inseparable - spending more and more time together. Opening up to each other in the way that flowers bloom when they finally greet the light of day, it was like the two of them coming together was always meant to happen - Soonyoung couldn’t find a drift compatible partner because it was always meant to be Wonwoo, Wonwoo was scouted to work here so he could create the very system that would lead them to each other. Spending each day together, learning each other’s rhythms and quirks - it was like everything had led to the present. There was no safer place than being together, laying in each other’s arms.

Wonwoo felt Soonyoung reach up to run a hand across his cheek, felt him lean on an elbow to be closer, to look him in the eye.

He didn’t stop him, even when Soonyoung’s mind betrayed his true intentions in less than a second. He let his eyes close and felt Soonyoung’s lips press gently against his. He moved a hand to softly hold the older man’s waist, to keep him close.

When Soonyoung pulled away, Wonwoo looked up at him. He felt the softness of their thoughts commingling and weaving until there was no Wonwoo, no Soonyoung, just the two of them in some infinite space like this was what they were meant to be doing all along. Like everything would be okay as long as they were together.

He pulled him back until their lips met again, a small hitch dropping from Soonyoung’s mouth. No more hesitation, no more questions, this was a moment for them alone and they weren’t going to give it up for anything.

Lips pressing determinedly, Soonyoung struggled to be closer. Snaking a leg between Wonwoo’s and placing both hands on the younger man’s face, he grinned into the kiss. Teeth clashed and laughs were chortled out as they learned each other’s bodies in a new way. 

Suddenly it was like meeting each other for the first time - exploring something so familiar that it was like your own body but with new eyes and hands. And there were no thoughts of whether they were enough or if this were okay - they just sent all their feelings along the wire between them.

This was right.

-

When Wonwoo woke up the next morning in Soonyoung’s arms, he was surprised to see the older man looking down at him softly.

_I promise I haven’t been staring at you sleep for hours. I woke up a few minutes ago and you were too peaceful to move. I know it’s been hard finding that kind of peace lately._

_Thanks, Soon. And it wouldn’t be that creepy, you know. If anyone would have the right to stare at me, it’d be you. You’ve been in my mind after all._

They’d been getting better at communicating through the ghost drift lately. What used to be just pictures and general ideas was quickly becoming full sentences and complex thought. Wonwoo had discovered that he could tune Soonyoung into whatever he was thinking in a matter of seconds. He also knew that theoretically he could put up a wall if he wanted Soonyoung to stay out his head for a bit, but he didn’t think he’d ever actually need to.

Given that he can basically read Soonyoung’s mind, Wonwoo didn’t know why he was still surprised when the older man gently kissed him again. This was something they did now, but he still couldn’t wrap his mind around being in the other man’s arms.

_Stop thinking so much - you’re being noisy, Wonu._

And Wonwoo did stop thinking. He let his hands caress Soonyoung’s face, fingers traveling to wrap themselves in his dark hair as he deepened the kiss. It wasn’t long before that wasn’t enough either. 

After letting his hands explore Soonyoung’s body, he lightly tapped on his hip before pulling him closer. Quickly helping the shorter man swing a leg over him, Wonwoo placed his hands on Soonyoung’s waist. 

The older man leaned forward over his chest, a knee on either side of Wonwoo’s pelvis. He reconnected their lips as Wonwoo’s fingers lightly dug into Soonyoung’s hips - he was sure there would be tiny half-moon imprints there by the time they were done.

As Wonwoo’s grip got tighter, Soonyoung started trailing soft kisses down Wonwoo’s face and neck. The corner of his lips. Right on the apple of his cheek. Across the edge of his sharp jaw. Right below his ear. Accompanied by the small pants from Wonwoo’s breath, Soonyoung continued down further until he got to the top of Wonwoo’s collarbone that was peeking out of his tank top.

He sucked lightly at the space for a few seconds. _Right there. Please._ Even Wonwoo’s thoughts were a little breathy.

As Soonyoung pulled back, he looked down to admire the man beneath him. Now sporting a soft purple mark on his chest that hopefully was low enough to hide under his uniform, his eyes were closed with his face serene for the first time in months.

_You know, Wonwoo. It was really hard hiding this from you._

Wonwoo opened his eyes to look at the man above him. The dim light from the automatic overhead creating a soft halo around Soonyoung’s head. _Hiding what?_

_How much I liked you. I know you’re in my head but you can’t possibly think I don’t keep at least a few secrets._

He was speechless. Here was this beautiful man right in front of him that knew his best and worst qualities and still wanted to be with him. Man, was Wonwoo gone for him.

_You okay, Wonu? You’re blushing._ And Soonyoung couldn’t help himself it seemed before he bent over to kiss Wonwoo again, quickly and fully.

They both laughed as Wonwoo held Soonyoung close when the older man tried to pull away. _So you just let me look like some lovestruck idiot all by myself?_

_It was_ cute _, ok? Really, really genuine and soft and honest and just cute. I couldn’t believe that something like that could be real so I kept it from you. I was really stupid._ He pecked the younger man on the lips again.

Wonwoo’s face scrunched up (and not in the way Soonyoung had grown terribly fond of). He looked like he was trying to find the right words to say something.

_You’re not stupid, Soonyoung. You’re one of the smartest people I know and I’m so glad I have you. So glad, it’s really hard to process._

_God, I really need to kiss you again. And maybe never stop._

Soonyoung reached a hand up to hold Wonwoo’s face as he did just that, his other hand grasping Wonwoo’s arm that was wrapped tightly around his waist. Wonwoo was pretty sure they couldn’t get any closer but that didn’t mean he was going to let go of Soonyoung anytime soon.

That is, until a hard knock on their barrack’s steel door had them pulling apart and wondering who could possibly be bothering them on their first real rest day in the last three weeks.

-

It was Kyungwon. Slightly hunched over from holding a cardboard storage box in her hands, she gave them a tight lipped smile before using her chin to gesture them to let her in.

“I know it’s been a while, Wonwoo, but aren’t you going to let me in?” She pushed past the boys, using the large file box as a makeshift battering ram.

Sitting at their small, steel table with a cup of tea in front of her less than 3 minutes later, Kyungwon looked at the boys expectedly. As a drift tech specialist from the PRISTIN initiative, Wonwoo was surprised to see her in the male dormitory this early in the morning but he should have realized - if anyone was going to figure it out of course it would be her.

“So you know,” Wonwoo sat next to Soonyoung across from the table from the thin, blonde woman.

“It’s not like you’ve ever been very good at keeping secrets, Wonwoo.” She giggled slightly before dropping a few sugar cubes into her tea. He watched as she softly swirled a spoon in the tea one, two, three times before setting it down on the small, chipped saucer.

A soft voice rang in his head, _What does she know, Wonu?_

“She knows _everything_ , Soon.”

Kyungwon had been there when Wonwoo first set himself toward writing the algorithm that paired him and Soonyoung together. First applications of testing were utilized within the PRISTIN initiative and, as their main drift technician, Kyungwon had been his right hand in trials, often spending nights not sleeping to help him find the right variable or the correct theory to test.

When Minkyung and Yebin had first stepped onto the mat floor of the kwoon room and held strong at 85% drift compatibility, she’d even been the one that sprayed Wonwoo with an entire bottle of champagne. (Maybe it had fried one of Wonwoo’s nonessential hard drives in the process, but she’d been there.) When the PRISTIN initiative had taken full swing and Wonwoo had pulled himself from the project, Kyungwon had rightfully taken over as the subunit’s head statistician.

“So, how did you figure it out?” Soonyoung had given up on playing dumb after the fourth try. Kyungwon wasn’t taking the bait and Wonwoo had physically facepalmed at one point.

“Like I said, Wonwoo had never been very keen at secrecy. He looks at you like how I used to catch Eunwoo.”

_Who’s Eunwoo?_

_Her girlfriend._

“I know it must be absolutely mind-blowing being able to speak without actually _speaking_ to each other, but you know I’m still apart of this conversation too, right?” She crossed her arms as she leaned back in the chair, tea still cooling in front of her.

Soonyoung smiled sheepishly, “I was just asking who Eunwoo was, I didn’t want to be rude. Nayoung doesn’t tell me a ton about PRISTIN since it’s a closed off unit.”

“Figures. Nayoung is a stickler for the rules, she’d probably kill me if she found out I was here with you guys right now. PRISTIN has a drift compatibility testing later today that I need to finish prepping for.”

Wonwoo looked up at that. “Who’s testing?”

“Jieqiong and Junghyeon. We were considering pitching them as alternate pilots for 9Teen. We need to start being more realistic when it comes to backups.” She trailed off at the end, clearly not wanting to say what had to be said.

“So then, why _are_ you here right now? I don’t want to be rude, really, I just don’t understand what’s going on? Are you going to turn us in? Get us kicked out of the program and forced to break the bond?” Soonyoung talked big but he looked so small. Like he was bracing himself for the worst, seceding into a shell and lifting up his walls again. Wonwoo grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed it.

“What?” Kyungwon looked at him like he was crazy, “Never. The opposite actually. Here look at this.” She finally opened the box she’d brought with her earlier, pulling off the lid so Soonyoung could piles of manila file folders. “I pulled every bit of information I possibly could while trying to be discreet over the last few weeks. All about ghost drifting and the effects of the drift - even the stuff that’s been blacked out. Anything to find a way to beat these fucking monsters. It’s time we start thinking like them.”

Wonwoo finally understood. Of course, he knew Kyungwon had shown up because she found out about the bond but now he knew what she was aiming at - “Hivemind.”

“Yes, Wonwoo! If we can find a way to understand the effects of perpetual hivemind, we can find a weakness. Jaeger pilots usually only get a taste of that experience - forced to drop the connection as soon as they exit the conn-pod or simulator. But kaiju? They live in that mentality 24/7. They are always strategizing, evolving, and finding new ways to mutate in order to fight us.” Kyungwon looked back and forth between the two of them.

“And if we can get a handle on how we’re affected by the bond - we can make a plan to stop them.” Soonyoung looked surprised at what came out of his own mind, before a self-satisfied smile bloomed on his face.

“We can win, Soon.”

-

It was midnight. Only a few hours after the day’s training had ended, Soonyoung was soundly asleep with his arms softly tucked around Wonwoo’s waist. Wonwoo let himself be held as he laid there, still awake and thinking about the incredulous situation he’d somehow found himself in. After Kyungwon had come to them a week ago, he couldn’t help but just keep thinking about their bond.

He was content. Which felt weird to say when they were in the middle of a war, but that was the new normal. Constant interaction with aliens set on killing them was something they just _dealt_ with now, so finding a way to stay calm and serene in such atrocity was truly a feat. His emotions were less able to be described in words. Rather, just abstract colors and hues that splattered in his mind and took away his unease. He smiled as he focused on the feeling of Soonyoung’s arm pulling taut on his waist, fingertips brushing his stomach where his t-shirt had ridden up. This was right. It was something he wasn’t sure he could ever let go of.

If he was being honest, he wasn’t surprised when an alarm bell went off a few moments later. He was always seemingly interrupted the moment he tried to put any specific thoughts toward their relationship and where it was going. They were going to have to have that whole conversation one day - without pausing in the middle to kiss because they can’t stop themselves.

Soonyoung woke with the blaring siren, instinctually pulling Wonwoo close and placing a soft kiss on the back of his neck before untangling himself to pull on a pair of pants. Wonwoo followed suit, zipping up his boots as Soonyoung pulled his dog tags around his neck.

They’re in the elevator less than 2 minutes later, express-lifting straight to their drivesuit room. Going through the motions, Wonwoo’s in the conn-pod about to be strapped in when he realized just how monotonous this had all become: his body was so used to it, he didn’t even have to think about where to go or what to do. It was all muscle memory.

_Hey, are you ready?_

And there was Soonyoung. Cautious and careful and worrying about him in the simplest way.

_Yeah, let’s - let’s do this._

By the time they’ve gone through the drift, seeing the same memories of each other they’ve seen for the last few months with a few shared, more intimate moments scattered about, Wonwoo was back in the game. It was like fully drifting and being completely in Soonyoung’s mind just flipped a switch in him. He was who he needed to be now. For the war. For the country. For his partner. For himself.

He was so much stronger now. He wasn’t just bulking up but getting exponentially better at playing the mental game. He knew how to let Soonyoung use his mind to plan an attack, how to allow his body to respond to support his partner. It was like he was made for this. Like his body had been waiting to be put to the test physically and cerebrally.

By the time they’re dropped into the water a couple hundred kilometers from the coast, Wonwoo’d had Jihoon in his ear for a solid ten minutes just planning out offensive options with Soonyoung. The kaiju [CODENAME: RACKCROWN] was the largest monster they had to fight so far - tapping in all four jaeger teams to take it down. With at least 10 m on Twenty4Seven, it felt like the beast was towering over them completely. 

There would be no sneaking up on it this time. They watched as MoonWalker and AL1 were dropped in directly to the front of the kaiju. He heard Jun and Mingyu yelling as the two jaegers immediately began to aggravate the monster with a spray of bullets directed at its jaw. The shots forced the monster to tilt its head back - unable to use its pointed skull protrusions to attack the jaegers.

As 9Teen and Twenty4Seven were dropped behind, Wonwoo found himself allowing Soonyoung to take control as their arms lifted to take ahold of the kaiju’s “crown” to keep it from trying to fight back with MoonWalker who was slowly easing in closer to its front. AL1 continued it’s assault of bullets, trying to continue distracting the beast. Wonwoo felt the water move around them as 9Teen, small and lithe, rushed past to counter MoonWalker’s advance and mirror the other pilots’ activity. 

Wonwoo watched as it all went wrong.

He could do nothing but watch as RACKCROWN swiped out an arm for 9Teen and knocked the jaeger down, momentarily submerging below the water.

“9Teen! Report! Vernon, what are your stats?” The Marshal yelled over the comms, trying to reestablish a connection to the bright yellow jaeger as it stayed under the water a second too long. The video feed of their conn-pod was blurred, just a mismatch of black and white pixels.

A few moments passed. The connection was static and radio silent, the sound almost deafening in Wonwoo’s ears. He wanted to help them, to let go of the kaiju and just pull his friends out of the water. But, he couldn’t. He couldn’t just let the kaiju get away and try to destroy the coastal cities. He would just have to watch. Be forced to watch again. As his friends faced literal death right in front of him.

The silence was getting so loud, he swore it was like screaming. Or maybe that was him - his mind just screaming at him for being useless, unable to help when he finally had a way to. He just wanted them to be alright. They had to be alright.

The silence was interrupted by a small buzz. A crackle. And then a voice.

“We’re fine. We’re fine.” It was Vernon, his voice quiet but _there._ Wonwoo let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. Soonyoung looked over at him, a somber smile on his face. “But we’re out of sync and taking on water slowly. I had to detach from my spinal clamp to repair the comms but there’s nothing I can do down here without another mechanic to help me resync 9Teen’s arms. We’re out of commision for the day and I’d say we only have 15 minutes before we’ll take on too much water.”

Vernon sounded slightly panicked the longer he went on describing the state of his Jaeger.

“And Seungkwan? Your status?” The Marshal’s tone was clipped as he tried to assess the damage.

“I’m fine, just finish it off and get us out of here as soon as you can.” Seungkwan’s voice sounded strained, trying to make himself heard from where he was still strapped into his clamp.

“Ok, let’s finish this. We’re not losing anybody today.” Minghao spoke first out of the rangers before he and Mingyu immediately started relaying a heavier load of bullets directly in the kaiju’s face. Wonwoo looked at Soonyoung and the pair nodded as they pulled harder on the beast’s ‘crown’.

AL1 only stopped its assault as MoonWalker finished advancing from its forward position to slide an arm blade down the creature’s belly before landing a quick uppercut to knock out the monster. There was no time to dance around it now. Twenty4Seven used the last of the creature’s momentum to whip the creature down into the water, away from 9Teen. It was finished now.

As the monster began to sink into the ocean, the three remaining Jaegers rushed to 9Teen’s side, quickly pulling up the jaeger from its horizontal position in the water. It was a few minutes before they saw the conn-pod’s pressurized door pop off into the sea below them as Vernon and Seungkwan crawled out onto the shoulder of the mech. They waved out to the rest of their team. They were okay. Alive.

Wonwoo looked over at Soonyoung. His partner. Someone he couldn’t ever stand to lose. He wouldn’t even know how to process that. He was just so glad he was alive. _He just loved him too much to lose him._ Soonyoung was his whole world. Sure, protecting their team and Korea and the world mattered. But they were second to Soonyoung.

_You know I love you too._

Wonwoo felt the color drain from his face. He let his mind just think whatever came to it. Just let Soonyoung in on the only small secret he’d been able to keep from the boy. 

But, wait. He loved him too?

They loved each other. And they were together now. The color returned to his cheeks tenfold. Nothing was going to keep him from that man any longer.

-

While Seungkwan and Vernon were airlifted to be checked out at the base hospital - (no injuries somehow other than Vernon’s sprained finger from trying to open the semi-crushed comm’s control board) - the others had to sit through the standard post interviews and debriefs. Wonwoo was still slightly surprised with how the media treated them like they were idols of something. Not rangers, not pilots, but celebrities to be fawned over.

It was a few hours of the same monotony until they were alone again. 

(Sure, Soonyoung had picked on him a little during the post-battle interviews. _You looooove me. Why don’t you tell them that when they ask what your strategy was? “Oh, hi I’m Wonwoo. I just love Soonyoung and wanted to keep him safe because I love him. Did I say I love him yet?”_

Wonwoo just about hit Soonyoung with the water bottle next to him at that. _Keep it up and I’m never going to even say it OUT LOUD._

That got Soonyoung to calm down - for a little while at least.)

The door wasn’t even fully locked when Soonyoung just about jumped onto Wonwoo, hands gripping the taller man’s neck and lips already pressing against his. With a final click of the lock, Wonwoo wrapped his arms around his waist and tugged him closer. Soonyoung quickly pulled away his face, starting to cover Wonwoo’s cheeks in kisses, anywhere he could reach.

Finished with his barrage of kisses, he looked at Wonwoo, “You love me.”

Wonwoo started to blush, suddenly feeling a lot hotter than he did a few minutes ago, “I do”.

Soonyoung kissed him again, “Say it. Please, say it.” He looked down at where their feet were tangled on the floor, Wonwoo’s knee between his.

“I love you, Soonyoung.” Wonwoo used one hand to cup the older man’s soft cheek, angling him back up to look in his eyes as he whispered, “I love you so much that I can’t really describe it.”

_You don’t have to. I love you too. Just kiss me, idiot._

Wonwoo leaned in closer, Soonyoung already reaching out to him. When their lips met again - well, it’s not that the sensation itself felt different. There was just some satisfaction that pooled in Wonwoo’s stomach as he kissed the person who he was in love with, the person that was just as in love with him.

Maybe it was left over adrenaline from the fight, maybe it was new adrenaline from being in love. Maybe it was just dopamine seeping into his mouth from Soonyoung’s lips. All that Wonwoo knew was that within a few minutes Soonyoung was lifted up in his arms, wrapping his thighs around Wonwoo’s waist as the younger tried to pilot them toward their bedroom.

He wasn’t quite sure when Soonyoung looked the most beautiful to him. Mid battle, waking up in the morning still half asleep but smiling, when he made _that_ one face after making Wonwoo hand over half his dessert in the cafeteria. But right now, with Soonyoung letting himself fall back onto their bed and just _waiting_ for Wonwoo. That had to rank somewhere up there.

And then they were so close again. It was like time stopped as Soonyoung pulled him close again and started to reach for the hem of Wonwoo’s shirt. He took the hint and pulled it off, already feeling Soonyoung’s hands explore his torso. 

It was like lightning, like he was being touched for the first time. He had to be closer, needed to be closer. Signaling Soonyoung with a soft nudge to his hip, the older boy leaned up so Wonwoo could pull his long sleeve off. Sure he’d seen Soonyoung without clothes before, had stolen secret glances at the man’s lean torso as he’d pulled tight latex over his body. But right now he could touch.

Lowering his body until he was resting against Soonyoung’s chest, he brought his hands up to cup the man he loved’s face. _You know I’ve been dreaming of this since I first saw you?_

And he was kissing him again, deeper. Tongues slipping past lips, a soft dance between the two of them. No race to beat each other - just a quiet pressure as Soonyong squirmed underneath him, soft moans interrupted by the continued press of their lips. Their legs slotted together as the room grew warmer and the need to find friction increased.

They were still wearing too many clothes. Wonwoo slid down the bed, looking at Soonyoung’s face as he undid the other man’s fatigues and pulled them down his body. Soft, milky thighs now on display, Wonwoo smirked at the boy before leaning down to kiss up from his knee. He left light, featherlike kisses on his skin until he got back to the thick, satin feeling of his thigh. Softly biting down, his teeth were gentle as he left small marks along his legs until he got to Soonyoung’s pelvis, placing kisses along his hip bone.

And Soonyoung was making the softest, little moans. Breaths of air escaping his mouth until he couldn’t stand it anymore, pulling Wonwoo back up to look him in the eyes.

_I need you, now._

_Say it out loud then._ And then a whisper against his ear, “All you have to do is ask politely, Soon.”

“God, Wonwoo. Please, just fucking touch me.”

Reaching a hand under tight fabric, Wonwoo obliged. Gripping Soonyoung, he slowly began to move his hand up and down, soon finding a pace that left the other man without words. Not that his thoughts shut up in the slightest.

_Yes, right there. Keep going- keep, Wonu. Right… there. God, fuck fuck fuck. Just. More, more please._

And Wonwoo couldn’t help himself either - now that he had Soonyoung in the palms of his hands, he had to keep touching. He pulled down Soonyoungs underwear, tossing them somewhere behind him. Finally setting eyes on all of Soonyoung, he pushed the other man’s knees apart, making his way into the space in between.

He kissed up Soonyoung’s knee again, eyes staring right back up at the man under him. Wonwoo felt him practically vibrating with anticipation as Wonwoo eased closer to where he wanted him. It wasn’t long before Soonyoung’s fingers were making their way into Wonwoo’s hair, pulling slightly as they scratched along his scalp.

Wonwoo didn’t warn him before taking the still soft head of Soonyoung’s dick into his mouth. He felt the man under him suddenly lurch forward, chasing the feeling of Wonwoo’s tongue as it began to caress the underside. Using both hands to hold down Soonyoung’s hips in a bruising fashion, he spent a few minutes just teasing the head until small tears began to form in the corners’ of his partner’s eyes. 

_Wonwoo, god please, just stop it. You know what I want - fuck, just please. Please._

Pulling off with a slight pop, he pumped Soonyoung’s dick a few more times before moving to steal a kiss and wave a few fingers in front of the other man’s face. Taking the hint, Soonyoung began to softly suck until Wonwoo pulled them back, a small bit of spit stringing from the man’s mouth. 

He braced his hand on Soonyoung’s hip again as he pushed one finger slowly into his entrance. Met with slight resistance, he worked it in until he got one knuckle deep. He left open mouth kisses on the man’s neck as he got acclimated to the new sensation. _More, Wonwoo. Keep going._

And that’s all he needed to hear. Moving his finger in and out, he started to pick up his pace - Soonyoung letting out encouraging moans as got faster. He added a second finger soon after, scissoring as he pushed in, stretching the man out.

_Feels so good, burns so good. Keep going._

Soonyoung made grabby hands, pulling Wonwoo’s lips back to his. He bit softly on Wonwoo’s bottom lip as the younger added a third finger. Pushing deeper and faster, he kept going until Soonyoung was almost sobbing in his arms from the sheer pleasure of it all.

_Come on, Nonu. Just fuck me already, I can’t wait anymore. I need you._ “Nonu, please.”

Wonwoo curled his fingers a little, pushing Soonyoung just a little further before pulling out his fingers to push off his own pants and underwear in one fast motion. He was lining up with Soonyoung’s entrance seconds later, lips pressed to his partner’s as he pushed in slowly. 

Once he was all the way in, he looked at the man beneath him. Seeing Soonyoung nod ever so slightly, he began to pull out and push back in. Building up a pace quickly, Wonwoo fucked into him hard. He started slamming into Soonyoung, pulling one of his legs around his waist as he adjusted himself to go deeper. Further.

_AH, ah, ah Wonu, right THere. Right THERE. Just, don’t fucking stop._

Wonwoo kept going, reaching down a hand to grip Soonyoung’s dick. Stroking in time with his thrusts he felt Soonyoung start to clench around him, overstimulation getting the best of him. He picked up his speed, slamming repeatedly into the man under him. He pulled out as far as he could before pushing all the way back in, over and over until Soonyoung was all but puddy in his hands.

_Wonwoo, I’m gonna. Nonu, I-_

_It’s okay, I got you._

That’s all it took for Soonyoung to finally let go. He tightened around Wonwoo as his dick let out spurts of white across their stomachs. His moans, right in Wonwoo’s ear, triggered something in the taller man. He kept thrusting as Soonyoung rode out his high, just as hard as before until he could hardly see in front of him. Letting himself sink in one last time, he pulled out and stroked his own dick a few times before more cum was shooting onto Soonyoung’s stomach.

He let himself fall into Soonyoung’s waiting arms, pulled close despite both of them being sweaty messes. He felt a kiss to the top of his head as Soonyoung tucked Wonwoo beneath his chin. God, this was all he’d been dreaming of. 

_I love you._

Wonwoo didn’t fall asleep right away, the feeling of drying cum on his stomach irritating him as Soonyoung tried to hold him. He dragged the other man into the shower, if only just to let the hot water clear away their mess and loosen their joints.

An embarrassing amount of soft caresses and gentle kisses in the steam later, they were back to spooning in fresh sheets. Not a word had been spoken between them other than small laughs that escaped their still smiling faces. Then again, they didn’t have to speak anymore. More than ever before, it was like Soonyoung could just share his entire mind with him. The older man was no longer subjugated to simple ideas or quick phrases - small conversations - now it was like he could just open the door and let Wonwoo in on his exact thought process without the need of the physical drift.

It was mesmerizing - seeing his mind work- like Wonwoo was allowed to see a flower bloom right in front of his own eyes. Every idea thought out, every hope, wish, dream. Soonyoung had plans. Maybe they weren’t realistic, not at all something they could do in their present circumstances. But, as they lay there, he wove a story behind Wonwoo’s eyes.

_Ten years from now. When we’re old and you’ve grown used to me, we’ll have a house. A big one. Two stories, a front yard with flowers. Hydrangeas, Peonies, Hyacinths, Gardenias, and Lavender all in the most beautiful colors. Pink, Blue, Green, Purple, Cream, a prism of beauty right in front of the windows so we can look out on the street and see it. And a back yard so big you could do cartwheels for hours and never run out of space._

_In our house, we’ll have only spaces that make us happy. I’ll build you a library from scratch, with a big window overlooking the trees in the yard and shelves that aren’t too tall but still hold all of your books. Plus room for more. Right next to your library, I’ll put my study. With a strong, desk - oak. A chair that spins when I get bored. And there will be a small glass door right in between our rooms, not that I’ll ever actually close it on you. I never want you to be lonely._

_And I’ll cook for you everyday. Even though I’m shit at it. I’ll make my way through every recipe I can set my eyes on - even some of those weird American ones Vernon always asks for at the mess hall. It might not be edible and we may have to call for takeout every night, but I’ll try my best to get better so that you never go hungry._

_And there will be no more monsters. They will be long gone, nothing but a distant memory. A reason to hold you at night when the room is just a little too quiet. They won’t be anything but scary stories we tell our kids one day. In the big bedroom down the hall from ours where they will imagine up countless ways to beat their own demons. Where we will teach them to be strong in every way that counts. They’ll know just how to keep fighting when everything around them seems impossible. And they’ll remind us of that every time we forget._

_Each day will hold a new, small adventure for us to discover. We will have no responsibilities anymore other than to be happy. Other than what we owe each other - being honest, being in love. I will build this house with my own two hands if it’s what would make you happy. Every splinter, every drop of sweat - fighting monsters won’t compare to how hard I will work on making a place for us._

Soonyoung kept describing their life and Wonwoo felt himself melt deeper into the man’s arms. Soonyoung must have been thinking of this for a very long time. And he was right. It was perfect - just what he wanted their future to look like one day. He couldn’t help himself anymore, turning around and kissing the boy one last time with absolute contentment. He just loved this man so much.

-

Wonwoo could get used to waking up in Soonyoung’s arms everyday. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he could sleep without him anymore if he tried. Just something about being pulled close made him want to just live in this space.

But they had to keep training, the fight wasn’t over yet. They smiled at each other as they pulled on their fatigues, getting ready to head to the race track to get in a couple miles before breakfast. Yes, Soonyoung still beat him by a couple seconds but he couldn’t say that he didn’t enjoy the view.

As they walked down an empty hall, his fingers brushed against Soonyoung’s the whole way. He wanted so desperately to reach out and grab them but they still didn’t know just how discreet they would have to be moving forward. They wanted to keep pilotting together, had to keep being partners. They couldn’t let everyone down now.

The rest of their team was already in the mess hall, poured over a collection of meats, vegetables, and bowls of rice. Everyone seemed to still be recovering from the previous day’s fight, trying to carbo load and avoid body fatigue. As his partner sat down Wonwoo watched Soonyoung dig right into the meal, pulling a pair of chopsticks from Vernon’s hands and beckoning Minghao to pass him a plate of baby bok choy.

He just shook his head a little before taking a seat himself, Jun staring at him with what seemed to be knowing eyes. Wonwoo, surprised and confused, looked around himself a little before Jun silently gestured to the edge of his collar where a tiny hickey was peaking out above the fabric. He quickly popped his collar up a bit more, making a mental to have Soonyoung be more careful in the future before sending a tightlipped smile Jun’s way.

“I won’t tell,” he mouthed back to Wonwoo, handing the younger man a pair of chopsticks.

They were close to finishing their meal - no meat left in sight after Soonyoung had set in - when Jihoon cleared his throat. It was almost surprising how quickly everyone calmed down and gave their attention his way.

“New regiment schedules are coming out soon, there’s not much change but there’s more one-on-one mentoring with new and old pilots. I know you don’t _really_ need it anymore, but it still helps to keep forming an all over strong team bond,” Jihoon read from a paper - most likely handed to him by the Marshal or one of his colleagues, “Starts today. Kwon, you’re with me in the strategy room-”

“Nice! They just upgraded the graphics on the holodisk,” Soonyoung interrupted, making a small fist in excitement - Wonwoo found it endearing.

“Chwe, Xu - you two were still working with the bio-textile specialists on upgrading the drivesuits’ emotional compatibility. I know absolutely nothing about that - but you two… do you. Boo and Kim - I believe Jonghyun wanted to meet with you this afternoon about media relations,” and with a small sigh of someone who couldn’t be bothered to look more into it, “Just, check in with him. Jeon, you and Wen are due for a check in with Jeonghan about drift stability. He’ll meet you in the jaeger bay.”

As Jihoon finished delegating the various requirements for today’s training, the group left the mess hall - each duo headed in their own directions. Jun had already led them to the drift lab next to the Jaeger Bay by the time Wonwoo had even realized they were anywhere near close, too busy joking with Soonyoung in his head. The dark-haired man was currently making fun of Jihoon accidentally hitting extra elevator buttons causing their car to stop on multiple floors. 

Wonwoo was brought back to the present as Jun nudged his shoulder, clearly Jeonghan who was now standing in front of them had asked him a question, “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“I said, you and Soon seem to be working out for the best. You two are almost inseparable now - very different from your first drift. How are you holding up? He always had the _most_ energy, in the best ways.”

“I couldn’t imagine doing this without him. He’s not too much, he’s my partner.”

“Good, can’t have you ever doubting him. Now, go get in the solo pod, we’re gonna test your drift stats.”

He was surprised to see Kyungwon at the pod helping him strap into the test apparatus. It’d been a few days since they’d last seen each other - continuing research on the hive complexities of the drift with Soonyoung. He smiled at her, “I thought you were just running numbers nowadays.”

“You know I couldn’t pass up the chance to personally oversee _your_ drift numbers Wonwoo. Then I’ll be the one that finally found the perfect pair.” She teased him as she closed the pod door above where he was lying down.

“Okay Wonwoo,” Jeonghan’s voice came over the comms inside the pod, “Be prepared to solo drift in 3, 2, 1.”

Images of Soonyoung flashed through his mind, of course. It wasn’t like he could steadily keep his mind on anything else for the last few months. Just the man that was with him every second of the day, even when they weren’t physically in the same room. As his mind passed through good memories of Soonyoung - the day he’d once beat Soonyoung in a training lap after the older man tripped, teaching him how to cook his mom’s kimchi jjigae, sharing Soonyoung’s heinous blanket one day when the base had been far too cold - he was splashed with memories of his life pre-Soonyoung. Which felt like an awful thing to say, remembering his life without Soonyoung that is. Gruelling nights spent trying to correct his algorithm, Jisoo peeling him off his desk with a cup of coffee in the early morning begging him to take proper care of himself, watching the PRISTIN team form. And then even earlier: graduating summa cum laude and the look on his mom’s face, watching his brother practice guitar in their shared bedroom back home, that time his friend had made him audition for the drama department their senior year and he’d gotten a minor role.

Without the addition of someone else’s memories to filter between his, he felt like he was seeing everything at ten times the volume he normally would. Hyper focused on each piece but trying so desperately not to cling too hard to any memory in fear of getting himself caught on them. And after the longest time, but still somehow all at once, he felt himself pulled out as the drift settled down.

“Okay, Wonwoo. You’re all set.” That was all that came from Jeonghan over the comms. Almost immediately, Kyungwon was pulling him from the machine and directing him to the coordinator’s control station where Jisoo now also stood waiting for him. Jun was already on his way over to the pod for his turn.

“Is something wrong?” Wonwoo’s voice was small. Smaller than it had been in a long time, smaller than he’d ever spoken to Jisoo when they worked together.

“No, Wonwoo,” Jisoo smiled at his former protege. “You just didn’t need the practice anymore. You pushed through the drift in seconds, opened up like it was nothing. Whatever you’ve been practicing with Soonyoung has worked.”

Wonwoo felt relieved. He had gotten so nervous so quickly; nervous that he’d be taken away from Soonyoung, that at any moment the fragile norm they’d gotten used to could be ripped from beneath him. He smiled back at the older man, grateful for good news for once.

He took the empty seat next to Kyungwon who was working with Chan on adjusting Jun’s stats in the simulator. He was also doing well, almost completely open to the drift already. It seemed that they wouldn’t have much training today at all, maybe he’d have time to hit the books on the hivemind that afternoon. He shared the idea with Soonyoung who instead suggested more melee training.

Wonwoo wanted to protest but feeling the hearty breakfast sitting in his stomach he somehow felt himself agreeing. They would meet up in the kwoon room for a few hours before dinner that night.

-

In addition to the new training regimine, they spent the next few weeks meeting with Kyungwon in secret. Using decommissioned recreation rooms as a homebase to strategize, they tried to figure out how they could use their research to defeat the kaiju and finally make an actual effort to close the breach. Sometimes, Eunwoo tagged along to toss some biology expertise into the information pool. As one of the SKS’s premier biochemists - she was the one to pose the most accurate theories on how the hive bond establishes between both kaiju and rangers.

Kyungwon had been pouring over scientific journals for hours by the time Wonwoo had finished his physical training for the day. Soonyoung was stuck in a fitting for a new drivesuit after a close call in a kaiju battle the week before had a piece of the arm’s latex tearing.

“Wonwoo, how has the bond been coming along? Have you pushed it any further?” Kyungwon barely looked up from the analytics on the holo-screen in front of her when the dark haired man walked into the makeshift lab.

“It’s stronger than it’s ever been - I mean, Soon is showing me himself wearing his new drivesuit in the mirror right now while carrying on an entire other conversation with the fitting tech. It’s like we don’t even have to consciously think about sharing with each other anymore; we can just open up and leave the connection going as much as we want.” Wonwoo smiled softly, eyes slightly glazed over as he tuned into Soonyoung’s mind more.

He sat across from Kyungwon, pulling a paper from one of her discard piles closer - a second set of eyes couldn’t hurt. It was comfortably silent for a few minutes before Wonwoo let out a soft wince, rubbing his left elbow.

“What happened?” Kyungwon immediately glanced at Wonwoo’s arm.

“Soonyoung got nicked by a fitting needle,” he mumbled off-handedly as he turned the page in the report.

Kyungwon froze. “Soonyoung what?”

“He got nicked by a needle.” Wonwoo kept reading. The article was outdated but it might still have some clues on where to look next.

“Wonwoo… WONWOO!”

Wonwoo looked up at Kyungwon who had an inspired look strewn across her face. “What?”

“... he got pricked? And you _felt_ it? You weren’t just empathizing or sharing his emotions. You **felt** it. Wonwoo, that’s how we do it.”

Wonwoo felt the color drain from his face. “We need to get everyone here, now.”

-

It was hard getting everyone together, settling on spreading word about a training exercise for everyone in the jaeger bay. Wonwoo had Jun convincing the other pilots to join, Kyungwon corralled the remaining PRISTIN staff and statisticians, and Soonyoung used his last favor to get the Marshal and mechanic staff to meet with them.

“I don’t - I’m not really sure how to say this to you guys without losing your trust but… We’ve been keeping something from you all. Something really big.” Soonyoung could hardly get the words out, reaching behind himself to grip Wonwoo’s hand so tightly the younger man could barely feel it anymore.

“Is it about you two being a thing? Because I think just about everyone here had already figured out that one. You aren’t nearly as discreet as you think you are.” Minghao let out a small laugh that disappeared once he noticed the grim looks still adorning their faces.

“In a way it is, well - we are, a thing. But it’s more than just that. Ever since that first kaiju we fought, when Wonwoo fainted,” Soonyoung looked at his partner to finish, unable to find the words to communicate.

“When I fainted, the drift bond didn’t go away. Since that day, Soonyoung and I have formed a ghost bond.” A few confused stares, some knowing looks, and a couple small gasps filled the room, “We can hear each other’s thoughts, have conversations, share what we see with each other - the same things we can do in a Jaeger but completely unhooked from any sort of drift apparatus. It’s like we can just open our minds to each other.

“We knew we’d be forced to break the bond if we said anything but it was only bringing us closer and making our fighting better. During the last battle, we were even 100% synced for a few minutes in the heat of it.” Wonwoo started to trail off, unsure of what else to explain.

“We just couldn’t give it up.” Soonyoung interjected before looking at the Marshal who was staring him down.

But, it was Jeonghan that spoke up, “Soonyoung, you know the risks of this kind of bond. You know how dangerous it can be - if your partner gets hurt, if you’re sharing thoughts and suffer an emotional trauma. And the longer you wait to break it, the more painful it is.”

“I know. I know. _We know_. But I can’t explain to you how the benefits outweigh the fear; can’t explain the feeling it leaves when someone you care about so deeply can express their emotions without words. But that’s now what this is about right now. It’s not about me and Wonwoo.” Soonyoung was on the verge of tears, trying to describe how someone could be his whole world while keeping on track with their plan.

And that’s where Kyungwon came in.

“He’s right. It’s about how we defeat the kaiju. For good.” She placed a hand on Soonyoung’s shoulder, giving a small squeeze before continuing. “I’ve spent the last few months with Wonwoo and Soonyoung researching deep into the effects of the hivemind on kaiju.”

Wonwoo could see gears turning in the Marshal’s head.

“See, the hivemind acts like the ghost drift - just on a much larger scale,” Kyungwon continued. “By looking at older research from the beginning of the war - when so much time was spent on trying to hunt the monsters before the creation of Jaegers - and the continued strengthening of the rangers’ bond, we think we’ve found a way to use it to beat them.”

“How?” It was the first time the Marshal had spoken since he’d stepped foot into the bay that morning.

“Because if I can feel Soonyoung’s pain, that means the kaiju can too,” Wonwoo looked directly into his superior’s eyes.

“All we need to do is wait for the next double event. If we corner one of the kaiju, we can get it to reach out to the other via the hivemind.” Kyungwon was handing out files now with their suggested action plan.

“But what would guarantee that it would even reach out over mindlink? Why wouldn’t it just scream for help?” Jeonghan spoke up as he flipped through the file.

“We make sure it can’t.” Jihoon spoke up before Wonwoo could counter. “We hold it down, we take out it’s vocal capacities and distract the other one. It’ll have no choice but to use the bond.”

“And once the bond is opened...” Mingyu started.

“...We can kill them both and ripple it out through the rest of the hive.” Minghao was smiling again, a lot more confident this time.

“We can really end this?” Seungkwan was looking at his partner.

“We have to. For Minkyung and Yebin. For everyone that’s lost a friend, a child, a parent, anyone to these monsters.” Wonwoo finished. He thought of his friends. How they had given their lives to stop just one monster. He hadn’t known something worth sacrificing everything like they did before now. But looking at his partner, looking at the people around him; he understood why they gave themselves up. Even if they only save one more person, it’s worth it. To keep fighting.

“So then what are we waiting for? We need to fix up every battle-ready jaeger now.” The Marshal started handing out orders before turning back to Soonyoung and Wonwoo. “God, I hope you guys are right.”

The following few days were quiet in terms of kaiju activity. With the next projected attack not set until a few more days, efforts were focused on modifying jaegers and preparing to end it all.

Seokmin had taken extra hands from every department, adding upgrades to every machine on the base: bulked up armour for 9Teen rendering the smaller jaeger into a virtual tank in the water as he doubled its cannon power; a second blade attachment was added to AL1 so its current sword could be modified into a sharpened, dual-ended melee weapon; for MoonWalker he added a new shoulder cannon to channel its plasma guns into one large shot as well as a few (what he called) ‘surprises’ for the leaders; Twenty4Seven got an upgrade with more rotation available in the wing mechanism so they have more mobility than just creating a wall.

Even his drones, usually just in battle to supply uninterrupted camera coverage were outfitted with small gunners could be controlled remotely if needed for a distraction. The kaiju wouldn’t know what was coming for them.

With all of the commotion and everyone running around trying to prepare for a battle that might be their last, other than in their bed at night Wonwoo didn’t even see Soonyoung until a few days later when he physically ran into him in the hallway a few hours after dinner. The older man laughed at him slightly as he reached out a hand to pull Wonwoo off the ground where he’d fallen.

“Still can’t help falling for me?” Soonyoung smirked at him.

_I’m gonna kick your ass, Soon._

_Weird, that wasn’t what you were doing last night._

Wonwoo turned an embarrassing shade of red before the shorter man closer to him, pulling him into his arms. He’d missed him.

“I have some strategy stuff to go over with Jihoon and Minghao, I’m going be late if you don’t let go, Wonwoo.”

“Sorry, I just -” He was interrupted by a siren. It was now or never.

-

A drift technician was helping Wonwoo into his drivesuit as he Soonyoung prepped to pilot their Jaeger. With the new material Minghao and Vernon had developed, the suits were sleeker now and allowed them to move more agilely as they fought. They also had more connection terminals for the spinal clamps to encourage emotional pairing far quicker than before. 

As they entered their conn-pod, he gave Soonyoung’s arm a quick squeeze before letting himself be connected to the receptors in his ranger bay. He slid his arm into the mech’s controls and his feet got strapped in. Feeling the technicians attach the clamp his back, he allowed his walls to slip away and invite Soonyoung back into his mind like always.

And just like always, it was coming home. But this time he could see their home. He could see the end of this war, could taste the metallic of it on his tongue as he thought of the dream Soonyoung had for them - to finish all of this and just get away from it all. He’d never thought before that his life would end up here but he’d had enough fighting for a lifetime.

They were bonded again in a flash of seconds, every memory passing in front of his eyes like a supercut of how their lives led to this specific moment.

_Wonwoo, look._

And there on the holoscreen in front of them was exactly what they’d hoped for: _A double event._

“Okay guys, it’s the moment. We’ve evacuated the coastal towns to give you as much space as possible but we also have to finish this quickly We’re only going to one real chance at this before the kaiju realize what our plan is and try to counter it. Chan, give us the stats.” The Marshal’s voice filtered in through the comms.

“Double event, both level 3 kaijus [CODENAMES: VATNSKREM and FLUGKREM] - they appear to be twins. Their stats are pulling up the same right at the moment, both 86m tall with spindly bodies. Neither is too impressive upon first glance but keep your guard up. Something doesn’t seem right about these stats but neither Jisoo could pull anymore information on them.”

“We’re going in basically blind right now, so follow the plan as much as you can and be ready to change directives at any moment. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride tonight.” Jun’s calm voice rang out as he gave out Jihoon’s directions.

Heavy rain fell as three of the four jaegers were dropped in 20 km from the coast, the kaijus already quickly crossing into Jeju’s fishing territory. From above, Seungkwan called out about a fishing boat still in the water not too far from where they were now according to his radar. They’d have to try pushing the kaijus out of range of the coast first. 9Teen was dropped in a few kilometers back. Locking in and placing their cannon’s targeting system on the leading kaiju FLUGKREM, Seungkwan and Vernon started shooting off rounds as the other Jaegers began to corner VATNSKREM.

AL1 let its first blade extend as it began to slash at the monster. The sword left superficial marks at most against the scaley hide of the monster but it did its job in drawing the monster attention away and leading the kaiju off its path toward the coast. As it followed Minghao and Mingyu’s bait, Twenty4Seven followed its back gearing up to grab the beast.

While the two jaegers were pulling the kaiju to the side, MoonWalker let out an arm blade readying to nick the creature’s vocal cords in order to render it helpless.

And then it all went to shit. Suddenly the kaiju that was advancing on 9Teen was no longer taking any damage from the shots. Something was happening: FLUGKREM’s scaled skin was seemingly melting off in the rain as a tough underlayer was revealed. It screeched in 9Teen’s face before opening its arms to reveal a grotesque set of sheer, slimy wings. The tank jaeger could do nothing but watch and continuing spraying out bullets as the beast began to take flight.

“It’s a fucking mimic!” The Marshal was yelling into his microphone.

Wonwoo felt like a punch was hitting his gut as he tried to rationalize out the statistics of a mimic showing up today. It wasn’t something they’d seen in years - a kaiju that could change its appearance at will in order to copy its companion.

“This must be its true form now. Stats are coming back up now,” Chan spoke quickly into his headset. “Seokmin, I’m going to need some more shots of it.”

“I’m rerouting drones as we speak, I have to raise their flightzone in order to avoid it as it enters the sky.” Seokmin punched through his controls at the shatterdome, trying to get a clear picture of the kaiju.

“We can’t let it get in the sky. If it stays in the air, we don’t have any hope of working out our plan.” Jun spoke out as MoonWalker turned from its position near VATNSKREM, “9Teen, try to pull it down.”

AL1 continued slashing at their kaiju, trying desperately to keep it occupied as 9Teen reached out to pull the other monster out of the air. As they got a hold of it, the beast started screaming in a different vocal pattern than before. Almost immediately, the other kaiju reached out an arm to catch AL1’s blade swiping its other hand at the mech’s chest leaving a concave hole in the center of the jaeger. 

“Shit, guys. We can’t afford hits like this,” Mingyu yelled out as the monster started to turn back on the path toward its sister. The kaiju in 9Teen’s hands kicked out of its grasp and took off toward the coast. The tank tried to shoot at the creature, doing nothing much more than aggravating the creature.

“We won’t.” Minghao said firmly as their jaeger moved back into position, letting its second blade drop and solidify into a dual ended staff, “We’ll keep this one busy, you guys need to get that one out of the sky and as far off the coast as you can.”

MoonWalker was already racing after FLUGKREM, trying to make it to the land as soon as possible. Twenty4Seven followed behind - The Marshal ordering 9Teen to hold position, divert all power from mobility to the cannons, and provide coverage for AL1.

As they reached land, Wonwoo watched as the monster perched itself atop an abandoned office building, talons spearing through the concrete and glass. It yelled at them again as if taunting them and daring them to try to approach it.

Moving off the beach onto the pavement of a communal parking lot, MoonWalker began to fire up its shoulder cannon as it targeted the kaiju.

“Get a good lock on it, we’re gonna try to keep its attention away from you,” Soonyoung spoke into the comms as he and Wonwoo began running in the opposite direction of MoonWalker, pulling the kaiju’s eyes from the smaller mech. They let out a spray of bullets until the other pilots’ cannon finished charging up and they could take a shot.

“Taking the shot in 3…… 2……. 1…….. NOW.” Jun shouted as the plasma cannon emitted a bright blue stream of energy directed at the kaiju. FLUGKREM took the hit, knocking back a few meters before coming back, hardly a dent in its tough skin.

“Straight hits aren’t going to take this monster down, we need something else.” Wonwoo yelled out as Soonyoung tried to file through his thoughts for a plan on how to attack the kaiju.

Seokmin came back over their comms, “Twenty4Seven pull back, I’m gonna have the drones fire some shots. MoonWalker, Woozi, you should see a new button on your left, it’s green and should be reading off as fully charged. Push it.”

Jihoon hit the button and out of their jaeger’s hand flew a long cord. As he gripped his hand tight around the attachment, the whip burst to life with electricity. It zapped louder as it made contact with puddles around them from the rain.

“Oh, we’re gonna have some fun with this.”

-

In the ocean, AL1 was still holding strong against VATNSKREM. With 9Teen shooting off plasma shots every few minutes to push back any progress it made, they were able to keep the monster from advancing any closer to the coast. But routine becomes predictable and kaiju are anything but.

Going for a double hit with the sharp staff, the monster stopped the blade with its hand and then wrapped a clawed grasp around the jaeger’s own hand. Crushing the jaeger’s grip, it ripped off one blade and then the other. 

“9Teen, shoot it. Hit it. Do Something!” Minghao yelled as AL1 let out shoulder flares in the creature’s face trying to get out of its grasp.

“We can’t, it’s still recharging. There’s nothing we can do.”

“I don’t have sight of MoonWalker or Twenty4Seven right now, where are they?” Mingyu’s voice came out forced, still doing all they could to keep VATNSKREM from getting close to their mech’s chest plate again.

“They’re both caught up with the other kaiju right now. We’ll figure out another plan, but we don’t have anyone to provide cover for you.” The Marshal’s voice was slightly choked as he delivered the news. There wasn’t anything he could do or say to fix the situation they were in right now. Until MoonWalker and Twenty4Seven took out FLUGKREM, they were alone out there with a jaeger that couldn’t move and another without any weapons.

“Well, there is one jaeger that isn’t in use.”

The Marshal looked back at Seokmin who was standing in front of his drone controls now. He looked down sheepishly for a second before reaffirming eye contact.

“Cheol, you said to fix up every jaeger we had on base. Who am I to disobey a direct order?” He hit a few buttons on the holoscreen in front of his station, swiping a videofeed up onto the main screen of the control room: sitting in the secondary jaeger bay was ShiningDiamond - looking as pristine as ever, silver metal gleaning in the overhead lights of the hall.

“She was only decommissioned because new pilots were turning up and you were promoted. There was never anything wrong with her, yeah, she’s analog but with the way I suped her up… she’s ready to fight if you are.”

Choi Seungcheol had always said he would go to the ends of the earth and do whatever he had to in order to protect his team. He’d dedicated more than a decade of his life to keep them safe. If he had to die protecting them, he would. So, really, how could he say no?

“You’ve got reinforcements on their way, AL1. Can you hold out for another ten minutes?” They heard Jisoo’s voice ring out lithely over the comms. Unaware of the conversation that took place in the control room just a few moments before, the pilots looked at their partners, wondering who the backup could be.

“Uh, yeah, we have a few minutes left in us.” Minghao called out as they forced their jaeger to push its hands forward.They kept pushing the kaiju as far from the mech as they could, trying to stay out of reach of its claws.

As 9Teen got off one more shot at the monster’s back, they heard the whirring of helicopters through the rain. As they looked up, they watched as ShiningDiamond was dropped gracefully into the water next to AL1. 

“Told you we’d figure out something, didn’t I?”

“Marshal, thank god.” Seungkwan sounded relieved.

“Just call me S.Coups.” 

With that, ShiningDiamond was set in action, uppercutting the kaiju when it least expected it. The Mark-1 jaeger was quick for the heavy materials it was made of, doubling back around and pulling the creature’s arms behind itself.

Lifting their jaeger’s hand against the kaiju’s shoulder, Jeonghan yelled before flexing his hand and shooting a cannon from the palm directly into the beast - effectively dislocating its arm. He pulled the monster’s arm behind its back as Seungcheol copied his motion. They held onto the kaiju’s arms behind its back as AL1 took a couple quick punches at its face.

“Vernon, tap back into MoonWalker and Twenty4Seven’s comms and tell them it’s time to finish it. We’ll have our kaiju opening the bond in just a few minutes.” Seungcheol called out as AL1 advanced with a dirk style blade to cut out the kaiju’s vocal cords.

-

The whip, it turned out, was one of the best surprises Seokmin had added to his improvements. Jun and Jihoon grunted together as they jumped up closer to the monster and lashed out the belt of electricity against the kaiju. As it hit skin, they heard singeing and watched as smoke rose from the creature’s body.

“MoonWalker, Twenty4Seven. It’s nearly time to end this. We’ve got this one cornered over here.” Vernon’s voice flooded the comms after near silence for the last few minutes.

“How will we know when it’s ready?” Jun called out to no one in particular.

“The pin-like spikes on its shoulders will rise,” Wonwoo recalled something he read in a discarded article a few days prior. “It’ll be quick but we can do it.”

With the whip completely holding the monster’s attention as it struggled to avoid it wrapping around it once again, Twenty4Seven found its way behind the building. Wonwoo and Soonyoung simultaneously raised their arms and shot off their canons directly in the phlegmy membrane of the kaiju’s wings, destroying the creature’s chance at flight for the rest of the battle.

Unable to correct for the momentum, the beast fell forward where MoonWalker stepped onto its back and held it there for a few moments. Once Twenty4Seven got back around, they pulled the creature up wrapping their wing extensions around the monster. They held it in a death grip with only its head - sadistic smile, nonexistent nostrils, and beady eyes - visible.

“Cutting the vocal cords now, wait for it.” Minghao’s voice filtered in above their heads. MoonWalker held the whip in both hands, wrapping it around the monster’s neck.

“You’ll have to be quick Woozi! As soon as the bond is formed!” Seungcheol barked into his comm. 

As the electric wire encompassed its throat, it flinched from the burn. But Wonwoo and Soonyoung held tight on the monster, refusing to let it move anymore. They were ending this.

The hackles arose and MoonWalker pulled tight on the whip. They watched the beast’s head fall to the ground.

In the water, the three remaining jaegers watched as the creature they were holding down lost all life in its eyes. It slumped forward, dead. They’d done it.

-

The next day, they watched the news as Jisoo made an official statement for the base. Now that the battle was over, there was no reason to continue parading around the rangers with interviews like they some kind of faux-celebrity. They sat back in their individual barracks and looked at the tiny tv as he proclaimed the war over, that statistical and biological research into the breach had proven that there was no longer any life beyond the scissure.

Wonwoo smiled when he saw Kyungwon and Eunwoo standing behind his mentor ready to expand on the science behind the calculations. They were the real heroes of this war to him. They had started the research into the ghost drift, without them - he and Soonyoung would never have even looked into it.

He pulled Soonyoung close to him and thought about their lives from now on.

In a few weeks time, they’d all leave the base. Jaegers would be decommissioned, ranger programs shut down, the pilots and team staff would be discharged with complete honors.

And they’d get to live their tiny lives in a house. _A big one. Two stories, a front yard with flowers. Hydrangeas, Peonies, Hyacinths, Gardenias, and Lavender all in the most beautiful colors. Pink, Blue, Green, Purple, Cream..._


	2. Appendix of Terms

The **Breach** (also known as the **Portal** ) is a fissure located in the East China Sea less than 150 km from Seogwipo on the edge of Jeju.

**Conn-Pod** is the cockpit and control center of each Jaeger. From here, the Rangers are able to control their Jaeger's every movement. 

The  **Drift** (also known as  **Drifting** or  **Bridged** ) is a process that two Jaeger pilots undergo prior to synchronizing with the Jaeger itself.

  1. A known anomaly after Drifting is called " **Ghost-Drifting** "; confirmed by the likes of Dr. Caitlin Lightcap herself. "Ghost Drifting" is said to be "unanticipated consequence" of the Neural Handshake. Pilots are said to find that their link remains somewhat active, though muted, after they’ve disconnected from the hardware.



A  **Drivesuit** is a type of body armor used to interface with the Jaeger and protect the body of the Ranger from injury sustained during battle with a Kaiju.

**Jaegers** ([ˈjɛːɡɐ],  _ Jäger _ , Hunter) are a special type of mobile weapon created by the Jaeger Program. The Jaegers were the most effective first and last line of defense against the Kaiju during the Kaiju War.

**Kaiju** (怪獣 _kaijū_ , Strange Beast) are a race of amphibious creatures genetically engineered by the Precursors, a sentient race from the Anteverse.

**Kaiju Blue** is the designated Pan Pacific Defense Corps term for the toxic agent in the blood of the Kaiju. It is phosphorescent in nature and highly toxic to the Earth as well as humans.

The  **Kwoon Combat Room** is a specialized arena in the Shatterdome where Rangers are taught to fight in the Jaeger Academy in order to amplify their proficiency in combat situations.

**Marshal** (or  **Shatterdome Marshal** ) is the highest rank given to officers in charge of Pan Pacific Defense Corps operations.

A  **Mimic** is a kaiju that can change its appearance at will. While it can take on the physical characteristics and abilities of any other kaiju within a 500 km range, it can only hold these forms for an hour at most. Once injured, the monster is stuck in the current form until it can heal completely.

**Neural Handshake** is the final process of the Drift and a bind that enables the two pilots' minds to manipulate their Jaeger's every movement. This connection is achieved within the Jaeger once the pilots' suits have been locked into the motion rig. Communication is said to feel literal, abstract, subliminal or conversational, depending on the persons involved.

**Ranger** is the rank given to Pan Pacific Defense Corps officers assigned to the Jaegers. They are commonly referred to as  **Jaeger Pilots** . Prior to piloting a Jaeger, all Rangers are required to undergo rigorous training within the Kwoon Combat Room.

**Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers (or R.A.B.I.T.)** are an occurrence wherein one of the pilots latches onto a memory. Focusing on a single memory is discouraged while piloting a Jaeger. The emotions from the memory typically translate into actions for the Jaeger depending on the hemisphere the pilot is calibrated to. A pilot can become trapped in a memory they latch onto regardless of who the memory belongs to. As a result, first time pilots and pilots in general are advised never to "chase the rabbit".

**Shatterdomes** are the primary headquarters of the Pan Pacific Defense Corps and factories for the construction, repair, maintenance and launch of the Jaegers. All operations, Ranger training and experiments regarding the Kaiju are carried out within their respective Shatterdome bases.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments/Kudos are always appreciated :)
> 
> Tell me your favorite parts!!!! I'm curious!!!! This was so self-serving of a fic ok, I'll geek out with you!
> 
> Here's the playlist I wrote to: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JaSc0bI9zIOdDGIpWQmCc?si=uvyISj-dQMSr_yKplJJOgQ
> 
> Talk to me!!  
> Twitter: @gemhosh


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